Mental health - Olivia O’Leary is brave

HATS off to Olivia O’Leary.

By coming out as someone who had suffered from depression, she will have a dramatic effect on public attitudes towards, and understanding of, mental health problems, which are still swept under the carpet in Ireland. An internationally renowned journalist, she has effectively demonstrated that one episode of depression does not blight one’s career or ruin a person’s life.

Unfortunately, those working at the coal face of mental health are fighting an uphill battle because of the paucity of government aid for their invaluable work. This was seen recently when Health Minister Leo Varadkar confirmed that €12m would be diverted from the €35m budget for mental health, adding, of course, that it would all be returned next year. There seemed little chance of that happening until Olivia’s timely intervention. She will check.