Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I express sadness on the death of the late journalist, Dara Quigley, who took her life on 12 April, five days after she had been detained by gardaí under the Mental Health Act. We all know that a Garda video of her detention was posted on Facebook shortly before Ms Quigley's death. Her family recently said their distress had been compounded by the publication of her name on many different social media websites. They also criticised the lack of services available for persons with dual diagnosis such as Ms Quigley. In my experience, there are no services for dual diagnoses in Ireland. Working as a therapist in the Rutland Centre, I have no doubt that mental health and addiction are very closely linked. Anybody I have met who has an addiction problem has a mental health problem and the people I have worked with who have a mental health problem often have addiction problems and use substances to numb them. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Health to the House to outline what action is being taken on dual diagnosis. Services are currently separate, which means that someone with an addiction problem who engages with the mental health services will be refused access to the service, while those with a mental health problem who contact an addiction service will be refused access to that service. This is not good enough and the issue needs to be addressed. It is time for change, particularly with regard to addiction and mental health services and dual diagnosis.