Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Humphreys's amendment to the Order of Business. I also wish to raise the issue of dual diagnosis. I read an article in The Irish Times today about a young man who sought help for psychiatric issues but was turned away because of addiction issues. Last year a person was in position to work on a strategy in the area of dual diagnosis but the person was subsequently let go. The job was readvertised and the person applied for it but did not get it. As far as I am aware the position remains empty while, every week, people with suicidal ideation or severe psychosis are being sent away from hospitals because of addiction. We should have got to the stage where we understand that addiction and mental health are often a chicken-and-egg situation. I would like the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, to make a statement in the House on the issue. It would need to be the Minister because, by siloing the issue to Ministers of State like Deputy Daly or Deputy Catherine Byrne, we continue to accept that one Department has responsibility for the dual strategy diagnosis when it needs to be a targeted health strategy. We need to know that services can no longer turn somebody away because of a dual diagnosis. We need a care plan that addresses addiction and dual diagnosis because people are dying every week because they cannot access services.