Pledges to fund mental health

Political parties pledged financial support for the national suicide prevention strategy at a discussion on mental health services in Dublin last night.

The discussion, organised by the Irish Mental Health Coalition, acknowledged the recent tragedy in Wexford and recognised the need to support the National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention.

Fine Gael TD Dan Neville and Labour's Liz McManus spoke on the parties' joint policy on mental health and pledged €10 million for the strategy initially, rising to €20 million in later years.

Green Party TD John Gormley pledged 12 per cent of the health budget to mental health services, while Independent TD Paudge Connolly said there had been lip service paid to suicide but there were more deaths through suicide than on the roads. He called for the implementation of the Government's policy on mental health, A Vision for Change.

Minister of State with responsibility for mental health Tim O'Malley said it was the Government's responsibility to bring forward policies and to ensure they were implemented. "There is also huge responsibility on a lot of people in the HSE. I would raise the question now that when sometimes those people don't deliver, those people should consider their positions," he said.

Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins said the recent tragedy highlighted the need for early intervention services. "Responding as the agencies seem to do, like an elephant in a swamp, just leads to a situation where tragedies which may have been averted, aren't."

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, Sinn Féin's spokesman on health and children, said his thoughts were with the Dunne and O'Brien families who suffered the multiple loss in Wexford.

Speaking on the relocation of the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum to Thornton Hall in north Dublin, beside the planned new prison, Minister for Children Brian Lenihan said he was not defending or distancing himself from the choice of location.

"I was surprised at the decision but it was a democratic decision entered into by the project team."