David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleagues, Senators Mullen and Freeman, on placing this most important matter before Seanad Éireann. It is a very significant issue that we in this country must face. When I ran for the Presidency in 2011, I isolated three main planks, the first of which was mental health. I visited Pieta House and various other institutions and was impressed by the work being done.

No one could object to the first phrase in the motion. I am glad to understand that the Government will not oppose the motion. That is a positive sign. No one could disagree with the statement that "adequate mental health services are vital to secure the dignity and wellbeing of all those within the State, including asylum seekers within the direct provision system". I am glad that Senator Mullen has isolated for particular attention people who are in the direct provision system. I introduced a Bill a couple of years ago that would have addressed most of the problems that were faced by asylum seekers. I believed it would get through, but at the last minute Sinn Féin Members changed their vote and voted against it. I think that was because they had an interest in the issue and wanted to keep it for themselves. I notice that no one from Sinn Féin is present now. They said that I had not addressed working or the introduction of cooking facilities. I told them to look at pages 6, 7 and 8, where all of those issues were specifically mentioned. They did not have a leg to stand on.

It is shocking that, since the 1980s, the amount of money spent on these services has dropped by half. Presumably, that is as a result of the financial emergency, but we are assured by the Government that the emergency is over, everything is back on track and we have full employment. There certainly should be an increase in this area.

It is not acceptable that young people should be kept waiting before they get access to psychiatric services. I will quote the motion: "almost 2,700 children and adolescents are awaiting appointments with psychiatrists, with almost 400 waiting over 1 year".How, in God's name, is it conscionable that someone with severe mental issues and issues of distress or someone who is possibly suicidal can be told to come back in a year's time? It is madness. That is madness. That is mental illness in my opinion.

I am a bit of a grammarian and I want to point to one grammatical flaw. The motion states "there continues to be major shortfalls" rather than "there continue to be major shortfalls".

The next section of the motion deals with asylum seekers. It is perfectly appropriate to say they have particular problems with mental stress; of course they do. They have been wrenched out of their family circumstances and wrenched away from the country and culture in which they were brought up into an alien culture in very difficult circumstances. They are given an absolute pittance - pocket money. Most children in this country get more pocket money than we give to asylum seekers. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland has found that depression and mental health problems are five times higher among asylum seekers and I am not at all surprised. Many of these people are suffering from post-traumatic stress. I have dealt with people from Iraq who have been tortured. It takes a lot of recovering from a situation in which one human being has decided as an instrument of policy to inflict severe pain on another.

I am particularly pleased to note that Senator Mullen has included the phrase at the end stating "specialised services, such as psychotherapy for survivors of torture and other violence, can be accessed by those who need them".

I will end on that note. I commend my colleagues on putting this matter before the House. I acknowledge that the Government will not be opposing this motion. That is a very good day.