Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I thank Senators Mullen, Freeman and all those who put their name to this motion for tabling it. I was glad to co-sponsor it. We all know that mental health is a hugely important issue. It is important to me as a legislator and through my work with the RISE Foundation. I have been working with the RISE Foundation for many years, as I have said previously in this Chamber. We work with families who are struggling with mental health issues. In reality, if somebody one loves, whether it be an adult child, partner, brother, sister or a parent, has an alcohol, drug or gambling problem, then one will really struggle with anxiety. One wakes up in the morning thinking about that person and one goes to bed at night thinking about them. One cannot eat or sleep. One must watch the person going down a route of self-destruction, slowly killing him or herself. Senators have spoken about families and the impact this has on the mental health of families is serious. It is absolutely soul-destroying. I am working in the area, at the coalface but there is absolutely no support for the work of the RISE Foundation.

Senator Mullen referred to the figures, which speak for themselves.Some 2,700 children and adolescents are waiting on appointments, 400 of whom have been waiting for more than one year. These figures are not acceptable. They are also dangerous. If a young person is feeling depressed or suicidal, he or she cannot be asked to wait a year to be seen. It is not feasible. There is only a small window in which to deal with that person. I received a phone call from a woman whose daughter was in Galway. Only 14 years of age, she had attempted suicide numerous times. She is attending CAMHS and has been in hospital before. She needs to return to hospital, but there are no spaces available.

We have made major progress in our attitudes towards mental health. Thankfully, the stigma is slowly being peeled back and people are being encouraged to speak out and seek help if they are struggling, but we cannot ask them to seek help without ensuring that someone will be there to listen when they make contact, be it their doctors, Pieta House or anyone else. This is a resourcing and staffing issue. My latest figures show that, since 2014, demand for mental health services has increased by approximately 30%, yet the resources are not being allocated to meet it. People are being let down. The Minister of State is aware of all of this, though, and I do not want to repeat myself.

I wish to touch on another issue. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality. I would love the Minister of State to read the presentations that I listened to this morning. The committee is reviewing the direct provision system. We were joined this morning by a group of incredibly brave asylum seekers. I was very emotional listening to their stories. They explained to us what it was like to live in the system, and they spoke about the dehumanisation, indignity and damage being done to residents' mental health. They spoke about people coming from countries where they had been tortured and sexually violated, only then to come to direct provision centres where they face disrespect and a lack dignity. We would not treat our animals that way. There is barely any support for such people.

At a previous meeting, I heard of a heavily pregnant woman who needed to walk miles just to make a hospital appointment. When she eventually had her child, she had to walk miles back to the direct provision centre carrying her newborn baby in her arms. There was someone at the centre who gave her a hand every so often and drove her back and forth, but such an experience has an impact. We heard from women about having children while in direct provision and how their children had become institutionalised. One woman spoke this morning about how her nine year old child was suicidal. The meeting was upsetting. Last week, the Immigrant Council of Ireland told the committee about the number of women arriving in the system who had been trafficked and sexually abused. They have been through unspeakable trauma, yet they are being placed in a system where they cannot access mental health services. These people are being retraumatised in the centres. I would love it if the Minister of State read this morning's presentations. They were very upsetting.

We are a humane country. We have great humanity, but I sometimes wonder whether we are losing it. If Ireland is to have a humane and sensible asylum system, it must be based on reality. We must accept the fact that people who have fled war and persecution and who have sought asylum have been through traumatic experiences and have specific and complex needs. We cannot compound that trauma by placing them in a dehumanising system that lacks proper supports. We must acknowledge the increased mental health needs of highly vulnerable people and ensure that centres are equipped to deal with them. I urge every Member present to listen to the residents when they say that hotel managers and security are not suitable for or trained to help people who have been tortured and sexually abused. They need proper, specialised attention. Without it, the system will not be fit for purpose. There are many larger issues with the system, but they are all linked, and we will not be able to address the mental health issues properly without addressing their causes, for example, a meaningful right to work, the ability to cook their own food and the chance to make small, dignified choices about their daily lives. One woman talked about looking for toilet paper and being refused. She had to talk to her children about the reason.

All of this has an impact on the mental health of residents in direct provision centres. We must highlight it. It is up to us to refuse to let it go away. At a minimum, we should support the call in this motion and ensure that reception centres are equipped to deal with the vulnerable people whom they are supposed to be helping. Proper mental health services are a crucial part of that. I have spoken a great deal about direct provision, although I could have discussed mental health in Ireland. I would love it if the Minister of State considered this issue. This morning's meeting was upsetting. Everyone in my office was crying while listening to the stories. It was difficult for me not to cry. The residents are people like the Minister of State and me. They have children and are going through horrific experiences and indignity. Last week, a man was asked about his current legal status. He said that he had a wife and three children and that he did not care about or want to discuss his legal status. All he wanted to do was work. He just wanted to be allowed to get up in the morning, go to work and return in the evening and tell his three children that he had done a day's work. He said that he did not even want payment, that he would have done it for free. He just wanted to be given back his dignity so that he could show his children that he was a proud man and that he was going to work. This is the system's impact on people. We must consider this matter. Apart from that, there are issues of mental health, sex trafficking, what women must go through, and children being leered at in corridors.

I have said it all already. Please, will the Minister of State examine this vital matter?