John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Kenny and I were councillors on South Dublin County Council at the same time. While the mental health of politicians is not more important than any other profession in life, a section of the people who impact the mental health of politicians are other politicians. Something we should bear in mind is the low levels politicians stoop to and the level of personalised attack. The abandonment with which people throw out comments and phrases completely disregards the potential impact they have. It happens more in politics than any other profession. In some other professions it might be behind the scenes, but politics can get very personal. What public representatives miss, and I hope this does not sound patronising, is that I am not here as John Lahart. I am here as a representative of people. You would love to think that we could get to a point where other public representatives appreciate and realise that if they insult me or have a go at me, they are having a go directly at the people who chose to elect me to represent them. I am not here for me. I am here representing other people. I have a right to be here until I do not have a right to be here and until other people decide they do not want me to be here. That is not even getting into the social media piece and the rest of it.

My background is in mental health. I was a psychotherapist for a number of years. There are lots of phrases from old lecturers that we often remember from college in whatever walks of life we are in. One that sticks with me, and people who might have come to me over the years will be very familiar with hearing this, is "Lack of expression leads to depression", which is that ability to take the risk of talking about what is going on with them. As Deputies were talking, I thought that we often think of the negatives. The Minister of State has been to the fore in advancing very positive change in this whole area. She has my huge admiration and the admiration of my colleagues.

There are things in society that did not exist even just a few years ago, such as men's sheds where, certainly in my constituency, very often men of a particular age, maybe retirement age, get together regularly and continue to live full and dynamic lives. We now have women's sheds as a result of that. It is one thing setting up these. It is another thing that the Government funds them. This Government is again to the fore in recognising the roles they play. I think of all the sheds groups in my constituency and Dodder Valley Park in the summer where, when you pass by, there are people doing yoga en masse, due to the amazing South Dublin County Council.

That is the kind of stuff that we used to associate with other countries. Local authorities are playing a quiet but really effective and impactful role in connecting people's mental health with their physical health.

I am familiar with a great organisation ExWell which in theory is set up to do cardio rehab and physical exercise rehab with people who may have chronic illnesses or are recovering from all sorts of surgery. That is fantastic and it is certainly the core of what it is about, but it is also an incredible mental health sustainer and a great socialiser of people who may otherwise not have an opportunity to socialise through exercise. It is free some of the time but certainly very cheap and affordable for people who cannot afford to avail of gyms. It maintains and sustains people's ability to live independent lives. It certainly helps to combat isolation and loneliness. All of those things - being able to live independently, being able to meet other people and being able to go out - certainly assist all walks of life in combating depression.

What I yearn for, as I am sure the Minister of State does, is that one day we will get to a point where we see mental health and physical health as the one issue, and that we have a world health day and in celebrating or marking that, we mark both our physical and our mental health. However, we still have an awful lot of work to do and as a member of the Oireachtas health committee I am acutely aware of the challenges we face.

While I feel that people are much more open, on the other side more antidepressants than ever are probably being prescribed. There are some great initiatives under this Government. Funding has been shifted from health to education. I think this is the first Government to recognise that mental health is not just a Department of Health issue. It is an issue that every Department should take an interest in.

I am particularly interested in what we have done in the education area. There are a few pilot programmes, including one that a school in my constituency is involved in. The Minister of State will know this topic is close to my heart. The idea behind it, which came from schools themselves, was to have some kind of discretionary budget that allowed schools to deal with some mental health and well-being challenges that might come across their desks. The Minister, Deputy Foley, has been very much to the fore in that. I have no doubt that will be rolled out even more widely. We should not underestimate the impact of hot school meals in terms of mental health by relieving some of the stresses and pressures on family incomes.

A recent survey from St. Patrick's Mental Health Services showed that 37% of respondents named work-related issues as a factor that influences their mental health and well-being. In a previous life more than ten years ago, I did well-being work with some companies in the private sector. Some companies recognised this issue and had a mental health week. I will name one of them, the Shelbourne Hotel. I remember doing some work with that hotel. At that time I met a group of employees who were really happy. They seemed very content in their workplace and seemed to be very well looked after in their workplace. The well-being week it had included interventions and provided a range of well-being initiatives free to the employees. It could have been someone coming in to perform head massage on anybody who wanted it. Some male employees had use of the barber's. It provided a picnic for the staff in St. Stephen's Green. There was fishing out in Howth. It was essentially a kind of a pause in the normal work to say, "We value you. We want to do something for you and intervene in this way." Another company I worked for brought in a gym instructor on one of the days during the week for an hour. It was then increased to a second hour after a period of time because the workforce responded so positively to it. Mental health initiatives do not always have to be aimed at the head. While I do not think this was intended, there was also a positive productivity implication of doing this.

There is an awareness that sometimes we need space and time to rejuvenate and recuperate. Someone recently mentioned to me that some countries allow 12 weeks off over a person's working life. Individuals can avail of periods of time over their entire working career amounting to 12 weeks, which seems a lot initially but over a lifetime of work it is not. That provides a little bit of timeout, over and above holidays and sick leave. This is a recognition over a lifetime of work and it happens in some other countries.

After the local elections my party had a really nice initiative. There was a recognition in the party that not being successful can be a devastating blow. It takes a phenomenal amount of effort like an athlete training for a particular event. The people who are unsuccessful very often train as hard and put as much into it as those who are successful, and the difference between success and failure can be marginal. The general secretary of our party sent a letter to candidates who had been unsuccessful on this occasion. The general thrust of that letter was showing sensitivity, understanding that this might be a challenging time and offering supports to individuals who find it challenging. That kind of intervention and sensitivity would not have been there previously. Defeat can be lonely. It can go on for quite a long time and can go completely unnoticed. Instituting those kinds of supports is a really valuable input.

Those are a few things I wanted to put on the record. I welcome the opportunity to make statements on the day that is in it. I thank the Minister of State for her outstanding work and I wish her continued success in it.

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