Mattie McGrath warns 'we are in the tsunami' of mental health crisis
Mattie McGrath questioned the minister on the state of local mental-health services and the rollout of support hubs, warning the nation is already "in the tsunami" of need. He asked for timelines on the Clarmel crisis house, Jigsaw's temporary arrangements and the planned outreach hubs, and urged increased funding and scrutiny of charity pay.
Questions on Clarmel crisis house and Jigsaw
McGrath asked the minister for the current stage and commencement date of the crisis house in Clarmel. He also queried the Jigsaw rollout in temporary accommodation, whether its headquarters and tunnels have been procured and are being fitted out, and when services will start.
Local outreach hubs and locations requested
He requested details on how many outreach hubs will be provided and where, naming Clarmel, Carrickenshire, Tipperary Town, Killinall, Ballangary, Neenah and Rosgrave as areas of concern in the south and rural parts of the county.
Warning about surge in need and impact on young people
McGrath warned that the country is already experiencing a wave of mental-health problems - "we are in the tsunami" - with young people facing acute disruption from school age through college. He described widespread anxiety from cocooning, relentless news coverage and the figures highlighted by a colleague, saying normal life for young people has been severely affected.
Suicide rates, community support and charity pay criticism
He said there are far more people dying by their own hands than from the virus in his knowledge, and stressed the knock-on harms when families cannot grieve properly. McGrath praised local initiatives and volunteers, naming Trudy Lauder, Tipperary Fem, Seesaw, Clan Mel, Joe Lachey and Mae Walsh. He also expressed disappointment at high chief executive pay in some charities and called for greater mental-health funding - noting current spending at 5-6% versus 12% in other European countries - and criticised the return of 400 million in the recent budget as evidence of neglect.
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I do want to wish the Minister well in her work in this very, very vital and important area. And I want to ask you a number of questions, Minister. You won't have time to reply, but you might write to me, please. One is about the current stage of the crisis house in Clarmel and the commencement date for that house. Where is that? And also about the jigsaw rollout in temporary. Is the headquarters and tunnels procured and is it being fitted out and ready to start? When will we have a start date? And how many hubs are we going to have in the outreach, in towns like Clarmel, Carrickenshire, Tipperary Town in the south of the county, and indeed Killinall, Ballangary, and up into Neenah and the rural area up there in Rosgrave as well. So it's never more badly needed. People are talking about a tsunami coming down the line. We are in the tsunami. We're in it. It's here. We're messed in it. And young people, from the cradle to the grave, really for young people from school age and secondary school, people don't believe in this year or fifth year last year, students going back to college or trying to go back or trying to start next year. Huge issues. Huge issues. Huge angst there. And they can't do what they normally do. You know, young people, they need to live their lives and they can't. I answered in all the people that locked away cocooning and relentless news from RT and figures and frightening them and Deputy McShirley's figures were telling. And that's happening everywhere. We have far more people dying by their own hands, sadly, suicide than they have dying that I know of with the virus. And listen, anybody who dies with the virus, I'll get seriously ill, I had one on this morning, constituent, you know, it's a horrible situation to be in and they can't greet properly and they can't have a proper funeral or send off or be with their loved ones. So, it's awful. But we must look at the knock-on consequences with mental health people, with people with mental health issues. I want to salute Trudy Lauder, a leashed girl now living in Tipperary and she's a new scheme for country music, renouncing her, reaching out. She's getting actors, loved actors, patrons of theirs who really like those actors and it's been a great success and thank Tipperary Fem as well for supporting it. Anything we can do, I want to support Seesaw and Clan Mel and Joe Lachey and Mae Walsh there and others and the volunteers, the work to do. I was very disappointed last week to read about the wages and the high wages of the chief executives in charitable companies. That really is not where we want to be. We all go out and support those walks and everything else and that goes into life. But when we see this, it's not necessary. That's a greed is everywhere. But look, what we want now is help and support for our people as a nation indeed, as I said, and we need to have more funding put into mental health. We're only at 5% and 6% where other European countries are at 12%. And when we send back just 400 million in a budget yesterday we passed here to allow it to be held on this year, it wouldn't spin last year. It's shocking to see the neglect in mental health and people who can't spend their money as needed. Thank you.
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