Sinn Féin spokesperson on Mental Health Mark Ward has urged cross-party support for Sinn Féin’s motion calling for an emergency response to the accelerating mental health crisis.

Pre-pandemic mental health waiting lists were already at crisis point, but the avalanche of depression, isolation, loneliness and anxiety since the onset of Covid-19 has further overwhelmed services. Sinn Féin’s motion will be discussed in the Dáil tomorrow morning.

Teachta Ward said:

“As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, access to mental health services has gone from a crisis to an emergency.

“Pre-pandemic, mental health care waiting lists within the public system were at crisis levels but are now at unprecedented emergency levels.

“Now more than ever we need to ensure that mental health services are accessible for all those who need them. Nobody should be left behind.

“There are extraordinary pressures on mental health services across the state. These services have suffered years of underinvestment and, as a result, are wholly unprepared and under-resourced to deal with this emergency.

“Sinn Féin has engaged with service providers, service users and advocacy groups locally and nationally. What we are witnessing is an increase in depression, isolation, loneliness and anxiety. 

“We now have 2,551 children and young people waiting for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, 8,893 children waiting for primary care psychology, and 1,553 adults waiting on primary care psychology treatment with the HSE.

“This emergency needs to be met with an emergency response. Sinn Féin’s motion calls on government to:

• Establish an emergency talk therapy fund to provide an additional 128,000 sessions with accredited counsellors/therapists in the private system for those in need of immediate support on referral from a GP;
• Remove GP and medical cards accessibility barriers to deliver universal access to counselling in primary care;
• Recruit 138 additional child/adolescent psychologists and 138 additional adult psychologists to provide additional capacity in every primary care facility;
• Assist community organisations to continue to provide mental health supports;
• Create funding streams to support trainee counselling psychologists during the pandemic
• Establish a 24/7 Care Public Crisis De-escalation, Multi Agency Triage Team Ambulance Service in every CHO area;
• Maximise surge capacity within all private hospitals with acute mental health beds in accordance with the ‘surge capacity’ agreement currently in place.

“Sinn Féin is calling on all parties and none to support our motion. The government urgently needs to step up the plate.

“Failure to deliver an emergency response to this crisis will set back services, and those in need of them, for a generation.”