Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I really appreciate the energy the Minister of State brings to her role and her office is fantastic to deal with. I thank her very much. There are many schemes and they are all to be truly welcomed throughout this. If there is any silver lining to this Covid situation, it is that mental health is being spoken about and there is a destigmatising of it. We see the supports across all Government Departments, especially the Department of Education. I appreciate all of that.

Mental health services in the community have been affected by redeployments. I ask that the Minister of State use her good office to influence that those staff be brought back as quickly as possible and that we get those services back. I understand why we need to redeploy people but if we were to have a list of who gets staff back first, we should ensure mental health services have priority.

This week we got a phone call from my dad's GP asking if he is going to take the vaccine because he is 87. Of course he is. He has his sleeve already rolled up ready to go. As a family, there is a great sense of relief that the worry is coming to an end as to whether he will survive this and whether we will still have him in a few months' time or even a few weeks' time. Over the coming weeks, we will have that sense among a lot of families. We are not unique in that. Many families will experience the sense of relief that their family member will be saved from this.

How we communicate the over-70s roll-out programme is really important. We are clear that it is starting from next Monday. Newspaper reports today are talking about it going on until mid-May. It is important we emphasise that it is the second dose that will be done by mid-May. It is not that people will have it for the first time, but that they will complete their second dose. It is really good news and we need to hear that.

I am chair of the Dublin 12 drugs task force. In the context of mental health, I want to honour the work done by those front-line staff over the last 12 months. They have been extraordinary but they are flagging seriously to us that, under the pressure of the current circumstances and all they are experiencing, people who have been successfully managing their addictions have made a step backwards or are relapsing. I have spoken extensively to the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, about this but it should also be approached from a mental health point of view. I think the two dovetail. We need to be ready to provide and ramp up support services, because there is a hidden alcohol tsunami coming at us, according to practitioners on the front line.I respect what they are flagging to us. They are seeing it and taking the calls. They have adapted incredibly well and they are amazing people working out there for us, so I thank them. We should listen to what they have said and start preparing for drugs task forces, addiction services and mental health resources all coming together in order that we will have a careful, ready-to-go solution at the end of this.