Kenny criticises ‘failure to reform mental health services’

MANY of the targets set out in an ambitious 1984 programme to reform the mental health services have still not been met.

The document, Planning for the Future, set out a blueprint to shift mental health care away from institutional psychiatric hospitals to a community-based service.

While the number of long-term residents in Irish psychiatric hospitals has fallen consistently in the past two decades with more dramatic decreases in the past five years there still remains a substantial number of long-stay patients in institutions.

The matter was raised by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny in the Dáil yesterday, when he criticised the Government for ignoring the mental health services.

Mr Kenny said that only 7% of the overall health budget was spent on mental health. Pointing to the high suicide rates, he said that very few of the 86 recommendations made by the national Task Force on Suicide in 1998 had been implemented.

"Those that have been implemented have been done at a minimal cost," he said.

"Yet, at the same time, we hear of ministers' speak of expenditure of millions and billions on other projects."

The average number of suicides is running at 450, said Mr Kenny, who pointed out that it was in excess of the number of people killed in road accidents. Most of those were young males and as many of 90% had suffered from some form of mental illness, he said.

"It's a collective failure of Government to address a fundamental crisis of despair and hopelessness affecting the future generations. What has the Government done about suicide?" he asked.

Referring to Professor Anthony Clare who described the mentally ill as the most stigmatised group in our society, Mr Kenny said that in Australia, the suicide rates fell by 30% as a result of government programmes.

In response, Tánaiste Mary Harney agreed that suicide rates among the young were increasing at a frightening rate.

However, she said the Government had increased resources, including the opening of five new acute centres, school psychiatric services as well as addition revenue and capital funding for programmes.

She said that society needed to be more open about this issue and that frank and open discussion on suicide was often covered over in the past.

"There is an onus on all of us in politics, particularly those of us in Government, to ensure that crisis facilities are available," she said.