The Government cannot pretend it did not know that mental health services are inadequate or that the funding it promised two years ago under a special development programme was not delivered. Blaming the Health Service Executive for these failures is not an option.
The unpalatable truth is that under-funding and a lack of services may have contributed to the brutal murder of an innocent man in Dublin by an individual who had earlier sought psychiatric help.
Inspector of Mental Services Susan Finnerty reported to Government earlier this year that less than 10 per cent of psychiatric catchment areas were able to offer a range of services to people with mental health problems. And she complained there was no coherent plan to upgrade such services during the next five years. That was at a time the Government was flush with cash. And what happened? The extra funding it had promised was reduced. And not one cent extra was provided in the Budget for mental health services in 2008.
Chief executive of Mental Health Ireland Brian Howard yesterday catalogued a decline in services. Where, three years ago, there had been 11 suicide resource officers in the State; now there are five. Ireland has the highest suicide rate in the EU and young people are particularly at risk. In spite of that and the periodic hand-wringing of Ministers, not a single suicide resource officer is deployed along the heavily-populated east coast. Facilities for disturbed and violent patients are also lacking. Nearly half of the secure beds at St Brendan's Hospital in Dublin closed within the past year.
The violent death of Michael Hughes has drawn attention to shortcomings in the Mental Health Act, under which it is extremely difficult for family and friends to secure appropriate treatment for depressed or disturbed persons against their will. The provisions were introduced to guard against traditional abuses concerning involuntary committals to mental hospitals. They should be looked at again in order to protect the welfare of both families and patients.
The most immediate task, however, is to resolve the issue of funding. Government commitments to establish psychiatric units within the community and in tandem with A&E hospital services have not been kept. It is an appalling situation. One in four Irish people will experience some form of mental illness during their lives. Depression and related problems do not respect either age or income. The public stigma attached to mental illness persists. Better services and dramatically improved facilities are required.