Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and thank the Senators for introducing this Bill. As someone who has introduced a number of Private Members' Bills here, I am aware of the time and effort that it takes to get it to draft stage and introduced here. I thank them for the work they have done, which is appropriate as it is World Mental Health Day.

We need to give more time and effort to the issue of young people's mental health. While 16 or 17 year olds can give consent for the treatment they require for their physical health, it is not the same for mental health. It goes back to how we have dealt with mental health through the years, where a mental health problem was treated totally differently. It is only in the last ten or 15 years that we have started to treat mental health in the same way as we deal with other health issues. We still have a lot of work to do in getting across the message that if someone has a mental health problem, he or she should not be afraid to discuss it, whether it is depression or another issue relating to mental health, and to seek help when he or she requires it. This Bill allows the person to get the care and attention that is required. The Minister of State will outline the issues that the Department would have and how further work would have to be done to finalise this legislation but it is welcome.

While we are dealing with mental health and young people, a concern which I had to deal with during July and August is the problem of access to mental health services for young people. A geographical boundary seems to have been erected in the area I come from with regard to access to psychiatric services. I am concerned that when someone retires or resigns from a particular area and someone is not appointed to replace that person immediately, there is then a vacuum. The person who might be assigned to the adjoining geographical area cannot be accessed by the person who requires care. I am sorry for raising this now but it is an issue I have had to deal with. I am not aware of any other area in the health service where access is denied because the healthcare provider is in a different geographical area to the area that the person is living in. That especially relates to young people who require help and assistance at a very early stage. They cannot get on the CAMHS programme because they cannot get an assessment for psychiatric services. I do not think that is the appropriate way to deal with care. Why does it happen with mental health and why do we not have the same set of rules as with physical health? This issue needs reform and I will continue to raise it.

I welcome this Bill. There are some issues in it that need to be dealt with. I have no doubt that the Minister of State will deal with those but we need to make sure that when problems are identified in reports, they are prioritised. The Scally report, which we were dealing with in the Joint Committee on Health this morning, has 50 recommendations and he has agreed to stay with it until the implementation of those recommendations. Likewise, the expert group has made recommendations. I accept that there are pressures in Departments, but when reports are brought forward, they need to prioritise the recommendations made so that we can continue to improve the services.

With regard to young people and mental health, it is extremely important that we prioritise this issue and area and do not leave it for another four or five years until it is dealt with. The recommendations of the Madden report go back to 2008 and part of that report has still to be implemented. Likewise, an expert group brought forward a recommendation in this area. It should not be left on the shelf and should be dealt with. I hope that we can deal with the areas that are not dealt with in the Bill. I thank the proposer, Senator Devine, and the seconder for bringing it forward. I hope that we will see it pass into law in a reasonable period.