Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)

I am really glad to speak on this Bill. I commend the Minister of State on introducing a Bill on mental health. Her passion for mental health reform is really noted. My colleague Senator Nicole Ryan has already laid out why Sinn Féin has some issues with this Bill. I acknowledge the visitors in the Gallery, including my own mammy. I offer my deepest sympathy to the mammy in the Gallery who is carrying a grief that no mammy should have to carry due to a failed system.

This Bill approaches mental health issues too narrowly. Also, it does not go far enough to promote preventative care and early intervention. There is limited support for families and carers addressed in the Bill. Families and carers need to be included in care planning and to have access to supports themselves.

It is essential that we replace the child and adolescent mental health services with a new child and youth mental health service, extending care up to age 25. This would address the current cliff edge at the age of 18, ensuring continuity of care during a critical development period. On Committee and Report Stages in the Dáil, the Government rejected Sinn Féin’s attempts to amend the Bill to ensure vulnerable people would not continue to fall through the cracks. It is utterly disheartening to speak on this Bill knowing it will not do much for those who are really suffering.

Let me refer to just a few lines of a message I received in recent days from a constituent in Laois about how people feel they are treated. I will keep her name anonymous. She states she first went to Portlaoise mental health unit last June when she was in crisis. She was assessed and turned away having been told that if she got an assessment for autism, she would be fine. The same thing happened a further three times, the most notable being the most recent instance. Before she was seen, she was left waiting six hours. The receptionist admitted the doctor was about to leave and had forgotten about her. Once she was in a room with a doctor and told him in detail her plan to end her life, he simply told her mam to keep an eye on her and give her a Xanax. Despite her mam and her clearly expressing concern for her personal safety, he sent her home.On her second admission, she told staff she had an active plan to kill herself; she could not do it any more. She was told they would keep an eye on her for the weekend and the next day they tried to discharge her, even though she said she was at risk. If her mam had not hung on and fought for her to stay, she would have been sent out. This young woman's experience is not uncommon. I hear many stories of people in crisis who are sent home from hospitals without proper care. Unfortunately, I do not feel confident that this Bill will prevent these types of situations from continuing.

Another man told me of how he was found by his sister ready to take his own life. He spent a few days on a ward. He begged the hospital to help him get into rehab for his alcohol and drug addictions before he was sent home. Of course, he got no such help. He was sent home. His sister contacted a number of residential rehab services to try to get him a place but the waiting lists were six to nine months long. This was no good. He needed help there and then but he did not get it. It is only a matter of time before he is in crisis again.

Despite growing consensus among clinicians, service users and advocacy groups on the urgent need for integrated services, the Government voted against Sinn Féin's proposals to strengthen the Bill regarding obligations for care for people with dual diagnosis. There are not enough beds and community services to help people in crisis and waiting lists across the board continued to spiral upwards. Sadly, this Bill is unlikely to improve services for mental health or people in crisis when they need them. I hope the Minister of State will reconsider our amendments on Committee Stage.