Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to discuss this very important issue. I have been working with a number of mental health organisations based in Limerick that do fantastic work, including the Limerick Mental Health Association. I thank the Minister of State for all she has done since taking over the role. I know her commitments and dedication to resolving the issues. When we look back at what happened in Cork and Kerry it is frightening. A total of 46 children came out damaged. That is 46 children too many. We are supposed to be there to help children and support them and their families.

In his contribution Senator Murphy referred to social media. In her speech the Minister of State referred to the fact that next week is eating disorder week. During the pandemic it was reported that young people were self-harming. It is all about being bullied by their peers. People say things to them that hurt their feelings. Because there was no social interaction children felt there were no supports. It is frightening to think about this. While there is a positive side to social media and a lot of interaction there is also a harmful side. We must address this balance.

I want to mention some of the statistics discussed at the meeting I had with some of the local mental health associations in Limerick. Ireland spends a comparatively low percentage of the overall budget on mental health. The recommended spend is approximately 12%. The UK spends 13%. In Ireland we spend 5.1%. This is quite low. We need to increase this to 10% of the health budget and invest in primary care and prevention. Prevention is the way to go. In the report that came out of Kerry, it was revealed that many people were prescribed drugs. This is not a solution. It is a stopgap or a hold but it is not an overall solution. Others have referred to the lack of counselling services. In the CHO 3 area the waiting lists are very long. Last March there were 2,700 children on waiting lists in our region. This is a huge number of children waiting to see a relevant person to have treatment or an assessment. I dealt with a family with three children waiting on services. One child had seen services. One of the children, who is aged 16, had been waiting a number of years but still had not been called for an assessment. There are children who fall through the system.

It was recommended in the budget for 2021 that the Government should allocate additional revenue funding of €50 million to mental health reform through resourcing the short-term recommendations of Ireland's new mental health policy, Sharing the Vision. Multiple sources show we are in the midst of a mental health crisis not only locally and nationally but also globally. Preventative care advocacy and community services represent good value for money, particularly if done by voluntary organisations. There are many voluntary organisations out there. Limerick Mental Health Association sought a budget of €69,000. It received €58,000, which was the same as the previous year. This pays for four staff. The numbers have doubled so the budget needs to increase. These organisations do fantastic work. We need to find a way to resource them. They have the experience of working with children. While budgets have increased we still need to look at smaller organisations, particularly voluntary groups. They have built up a relationship with many of these children and the children trust them. Much of it is about trust and relationships. I compliment the Minister of State and thank her for her commitment. I look forward to working with her.