Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today to address this critical matter. My colleagues and I in the Civil Engagement Group are very passionate about mental health and the inequality that young people from disadvantaged communities experience in the mental health system. Yesterday my colleague, Senator Lynn Ruane, brought forward a motion on a drugs citizens' assembly but, unfortunately, it was voted down in this House. I am standing here even more disheartened as a result. Although we are hearing good and positive comments, we should not be very positive when speaking about mental health issues in Ireland. I have a strange feeling that what happened in Kerry is just the tip of the iceberg, unfortunately.

I have listened to many of my colleagues speaking today. I will not repeat what has been said but at the same time with many issues we have no choice only to repeat them and it is important we do. The key to CAMHS is young people and we must think of all our young people, including those who are marginalised, those in direct provision, migrant people and young people in care services. Yesterday, Senator Ruane spoke at a meeting in the audiovisual room, which I attended, of people working with young people in care. It struck me that she said if the State thinks it is better than a child's parent when putting a child into care, by God the State needs to be able to provide for that child.Especially when it comes to mental health services, when children reach the age of 18 they are in many cases still children, in my eyes, maybe because I am a mother now. They are still at a very vulnerable age and need those critical supports. As some of my colleagues have said, it is paramount that we, as a society, are more open about mental health. There should no longer be a stigma towards people with mental health issues. To me on the ground and to many a youth worker, in here everything seems to be doom and gloom. We are doing so much, but that is not evident on the ground, to be fair and honest. I have worked for many years in youth services in Ballyfermot. A significant number of young people in Ballyfermot have mental health problems, and the supports are not there. I have dealt with many cases, including recently. A young person may go to an accident and emergency department to seek help but find that the supports are not there. A lot of the time we tell people to go get the supports. They are not 100% there.

I wish to make one very important point. The coalition Mental Health Reform has reported that Ireland has the third lowest number of inpatient psychiatric beds in the EU, so I do not know if we are doing a good job. We need to be totally honest. Society is more honest about mental health problems. As representatives of society, as leaders, we need to be more honest about it as well. From young people I have spoken to, I understand that age is a problem when accessing help and supports, as are one's background, membership of the Traveller community and status as a young migrant person. There is an intersectionality to it all. We need to listen to these young people. We are here making decisions for young people in their absence. That should not be the case. We should have young people around the table with us. We should provide good working conditions for healthcare professionals who work with young people with mental health problems.

As for implementation, in 2006 we had A Vision for Change, one of the recommendations of which was the delivery of culturally appropriate services. Those culturally appropriate services, in my opinion, from working on the ground, are nowhere to be seen. I met with the National Traveller Mental Health Network two days ago and Thomas McCann told me that what the network is looking for is a stand-alone plan that was in the Government plan for the Traveller community. There is a mental health crisis in our Traveller community. I hope that the Minister of State will come back to the House not next week but the week after if I table a Commencement matter on this issue to have a further discussion about Traveller mental health. I would really appreciate that. I thank her again for coming in today and for listening to our views.