I have listened to the points the Deputy has raised, especially on tree-trimming, Safe Pass issues and the others. As we all know, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of good, reliable broadband to ensure citizens across Ireland can avail of remote working. Every parent in Ireland who has homeschooled knows the importance of good broadband. We have all taken Zoom meetings at home and we have dropped off those calls every so often. Everyone realises the importance of remote working, educating and other onlin…

I thank the House for allowing us time today to discuss the very important issue of mental health during and beyond Covid-19. I welcome the opportunity to restate my own and the Government’s commitment to the continued development and enhancement of mental health services and supports, from mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention to acute and specialist services. The pandemic has been very challenging, and some people are finding it more difficult than others. Financial and employment worries hav…

I thank the Deputy for his questions and he has asked about quite a lot. I will try to cover as many matters as I can and we can get back to him in writing for the questions we miss. I acknowledged the letter he sent about surge capacity in the private hospitals. The HSE has engaged with private mental health hospitals over the period of the pandemic to provide for additional capacity. The additional capacity includes the purchase of acute beds, as well as longer-term care beds that free up capacity in the statutor…

I thank the Deputy for his question. As he knows I cannot comment on an individual case but if he wants to forward to me the details, we are quite happy to have the unit take a look at this. The premise of Sláintecare is the right care at the right time in the right place. That is what we all aspire to deliver. There are currently many challenges and some of the units had to close because of significant Covid-19 outbreaks. As I stated earlier, I am thankful we have only lost 28 people in mental health facilities ov…

First, I offer my condolences to the Deputy and his family on the death of his brother-in-law, at what is a very difficult time. As Deputy Kelly stated earlier, it is very difficult when only ten people can attend a funeral. Considering all the hoops that must be jumped through in normal times, it is most difficult. On the question the Deputy raised, there is increased anxiety in respect of vaccines. Yesterday we heard that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not being recommended for the cohort of people aged over 70. The …

I thank the Deputy for his questions. He is right that the programme for Government includes a commitment to examine the reappointment of a national director for mental health in the HSE. I will be engaging with the HSE on that in the next couple of weeks. I am very supportive of it. We spoke about the new Sharing the Vision policy. The national implementation and monitoring committee is in place and one of the key issues we will be looking at very shortly is a review of bed capacity throughout the whole country to…

I thank the Deputy for his questions. I agree with him wholeheartedly that loneliness, isolation and anxiety are a problem. People are really concerned at the moment and we have never seen such high levels of issues from the low impact of mental health challenges. The HSE's psychosocial framework is particularly focused on healthcare staff. That does not just include staff in the HSE sector; supports and counselling are available across all the sectors, including for those working in nursing homes. The Deputy refer…

I thank the Deputy for raising these really significant issues. I will work backwards. On eating disorders, I have been really concerned that over the past three years, very little of the money designated has been spent. I had a meeting with HSE officials yesterday on this matter and on staffing issues in respect of eating disorders. Speaking off the cuff, I believe €4.7 million will be available to me this year. I guarantee the Deputy that all that money will be spent. I am very concerned about eating disorders. I…

People with disabilities do not come under my remit. The roll-out is currently for people of 65 and over only. The people with disabilities to whom the Deputy referred will be part of the next cohort.

We have funded this year the additional staff required to develop the HSE psychosocial framework. The primary care list, which we all know is extremely long, is, as one Deputy said earlier, something I inherited but have been working on intensively. Currently, there are 12,000 under-18s on that list and 6,000 of them have been waiting over 12 months, which is not acceptable to me. I met with the HSE recently and with the primary care team. We are putting in place a 12-month approach to reduce the waiting list. I sp…

I thank the Deputy for his two questions. On the vaccine, I met with the executive mental health clinical directors on Tuesday afternoon and we discussed at length the situation relating to the vaccine. Public health nurses and those working for mental health services will come under cohort 2. Some 70,000 of those staff have been vaccinated and the roll-out will continue in the next couple of weeks. On CAMHS, which is close to my heart, I met yesterday with the HSE in relation to the €23 million I secured in the bu…

The Department of Education, through the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, is providing school-level emotional and psychological support. I have no doubt the Minister, Deputy Foley, will bring the decision to the House when it is made.

I will try to answer as many of the questions as possible. The national clinical programme for dual diagnosis is proceeding and the new clinical lead is in place. I have funded new posts for dual diagnosis in 2021, which I know everybody will welcome. On the issues relating to the Mental Health Act 2001, this is extremely complex legislation and a great deal of work is being undertaken. I have discussed it with the Attorney General and we will move on it soon. It is not feasible to bring forward certain sections be…

I addressed that question earlier, although the Deputy might not have been in the Chamber. I will meet representatives of the HSE in the coming weeks. My primary focus when I came into the job was to get the national implementation and monitoring committee in place for Sharing the Vision. Given that we were dealing with the Covid pandemic, I wanted to ensure that services could be retained insofar as was possible. Between 85% and 90% of all services are ongoing and it is important to put that on record. I will meet…

I thank the Deputy for that very important question. The HSE has worked closely with different NGOs to provide counselling supports. MyMind, for example, has provided 10,000 instances of counselling supports in 15 different languages for people living in Ireland and this supports people who live in direct provision.

All mental health supports and initiatives are for everyone. A person does not have to play sport to avail of them. They are there for everyone from the very young to the very old. As the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, pointed out, a huge amount of support has been put in place for sporting organisations, whether it is the GAA, IRFU or whichever sports are involved. Mental health supports are for everyone, however. A person does not have to play a sport to avail of them.

Can I have 30 seconds, please?

The Minister is sharing his time with Deputy Devlin.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter with me again today, as she did last week. There was confusion regarding this residential home in Kilkenny. My understanding is that there are eight houses adjacent to that home, and that they all have their own front doors. We can say that it would have been logical to vaccinate all those people at the same time. Unfortunately, however, my understanding from the HSE is that when that application was submitted for the quantity of the vaccine, those eight adjacent houses we…

No.