Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the two new Ministers of State, Deputies Helen McEntee and Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, on their appointment. Guím gach rath orthu ina róil nua.

I wish to be positive and a Deputy on the Government side has asked that we be nice to each other, which is very important. It is also vital to look at why we are in this state during these statements on mental health. I have sat through all of the debates to date and I wonder why we are not holding the system to account because that is our role. A Vision for Change was introduced in 2006 but, not alone that, it was based on "The psychiatric services - planning for the future", which was published in 1984. The central recommendation at that point was a new model of mental health care but because of the slow progress over a 22-year period, it was necessary to re-look at the service, leading to A Vision for Change, which was published in 2006.

Therefore, there is a history to A Vision for Change. There were urgent reasons that it was brought in and there is a background to it. The 2006 document, which I have before me and which I have read in detail, as I am sure the Minister has, detailed a comprehensive model of mental health service provision for Ireland for the ensuing ten years, including providing a framework for building and fostering mental health across the entire community and providing accessible, community-based specialist services for people with a mental illness.

7 o’clock

We are beyond the stage of making statements in the Dáil, making positive statements or making our own suggestions, because A Vision For Change was based on the findings of an expert group established in August 2003 in recognition of the need to review long-standing policy in this area and formulate a blueprint for a modern, comprehensive, world-class service to meet the mental health challenges facing our society, not least of which is our significant suicide rate, particularly among young people.

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