
Fitness & Health

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25th October 2016
05:38pm BST

"The distraction now is that the government is spending €15m on mental health and not €35m as promised. We're actually spending €74.7m more on mental health next year than we will this year. And yes, €50m of that is for a new forensic hospital and almost €10m of that is for increasing wages for our staff, an integral part of making sure our service improves."€15m of that is for new developments, so this figure of €35m that we've talked about for the last number of years has actually turned into more of a difficulty because I meet people now who think that all we're spending on mental health is €35m." She then went on to explain that of the €50m being spent on the new forensic hospital, €36m had not been accounted for when planning permission had been granted. Green Party TD Catherine Martin got straight to the point.
"That, frankly, is totally inadequate given the over-stretched and under-resourced state of our mental health system," she told Murray."The tragic truth is that, yet again, our citizens with mental health difficulties and their families have been let down. "We need 24/7 crisis intervention mental health services across our country. We need one dedicated mental health worker in every primary care team. We need to deliver evidence-based, supported employment to people with mental health difficulties. That's just the start of it. There's so much that needs to be done here. "What is the vision? No more talk. Can we please now have action? We cannot camouflage figures with language. We've had too many false dawns and mixed messages, the Minister needs to prioritise our most vulnerable citizens." The government's dithering is costing lives McEntee's message was unclear. On the one hand, the reason for the cuts on new initiatives came down to an inability to attract staff to fill vital roles within the realm of mental health. (Roles, incidentally, that will only be filled by offering competitive wages and facilities that can only be achieved through increased funding.) On the other hand, she insisted that those cuts were made due to the added €36m accrued by the building costs at the new forensic facility, costs that she was not able to explain in any detail. The Director of Mental Health Reform, Shari McDaid, painted a stark picture of why the government's dithering on this is costing hundreds of lives across Ireland. “More and more people of all ages are seeking support to recover from a mental health difficulty; more than 2,000 children and adolescents were waiting for a first appointment for mental health services in July, of which 10% or 200 were waiting more than 12 months. Clearly more resources are needed at the coal face and a 1.8% increase is wholly inadequate to respond to this need." Hold them to task The time for learning on the job is over. Simon Harris and Helen McEntee need to build on the promises of their early weeks in government by doggedly pursuing key new nursing and psychiatric staff in primary care facilities across the country, paying whatever it takes to get those roles filled, while ensuring proper oversight in Portrane (which will not open until 2019, according to McEntee, despite an earlier promise that it would arrive as soon as 2018). Given the thousands upon thousands of Irish people living with depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation, addiction, stress and the myriad other symptoms of poor mental health - not to mention the 451 who died by suicide in 2015 in this country - the government is failing us. Keep an eye on their promises, hold them to task. Updated: Wednesday 7.35am If you're struggling with your mental health, here are eight organisations that you can contact >
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