John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleagues in welcoming the Minister of State to the House. It is always good to have a constituency colleague in the hot seat. She has a challenging role and I wish her the best with it.

There is no question that Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on individuals and families throughout our country. Attention has been paid to our elderly and our young people because they have been so visibly impacted by this disease. In the case of our elderly, obviously they are more vulnerable to Covid-19, though it can affect anyone at any time. In the case of our young people, they have been visibly impacted because of the lack of in-person education, the cancellation of major milestone events and the inability to socialise at a formative time in their lives.

I do not blame the media, the Government or anyone for focusing their attention on our elderly and young people because that is where the visible effects are most apparent. However, when it comes to looking at the impact Covid-19 is having on mental health, the problem is it is often invisible. As Senator O'Loughlin said, it is often the people in the middle who suffer in silence. We have seen that with increased prescriptions for drugs to tackle mental health. We know it anecdotally from talking to constituents, families and friends. If a person has a cast on the leg or a bandage on the arm, everyone will ask that person how he or she is or what happened, whereas very few of us ask people "How are you?" and mean it or expect to get a response back saying "I'm not okay". We have come a long way in recent years in terms of people being willing to say they are not okay and the saying, "It's okay not to be okay", is important in that context. We have opened up more about it but we are not where we need to be for whatever reason, whether it be that there is a perceived stigma or that it is seen as weak to have a mental health problem. The reality is far more different. Mental health can take a toll on anyone. Be it the strongest person or the perceived weakest person, it does not matter. It does not discriminate who it affects.

If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is that mental health issues can have such an impact and a toll, and even the strongest people who perceive themselves as optimistic and having a positive outlook have started to become insular, to look at the non-light at the end of the tunnel, as it were, and to ask when in the name of God we will get out of the situation we are in. I consider myself lucky that I have a job and am able to travel to Dublin, but many people are stuck within their 5 km. They are in a house or sharing with flatmates in a small area. They have lost their jobs or they are working at home and have to deal with home schooling. So many issues have faced so many people. The effect it has had is huge.

I will finish on the point, which Senator Buttimer raised, about sport and the benefit it can have, not just for our young people but right across society. I say that as a former physical education teacher. That, above all else, is something we have to grasp and try to find a way to facilitate people to exercise and meet in small groups or pods to engage with others, because that has such a positive impact on our mental health.