National and international studies suggest that 25% of the population will have mental health difficulties at some point in their lives and that 44% of people in Ireland have had a direct experience of mental health problems. On average, European countries allocate more than 20% of their total health spend to mental health services and supports whereas the Irish figure, as we are well aware, is a lowly 6%. In addition, the 2010 staff moratorium has disproportionately impacted mental health services. They represent just 9% of the health care workforce, but accounted for 20% of the 1,500 posts lost through the moratorium of recent years.

The report by Mental Health Reform examined progress since the publication of A Vision for Change, the 2006 blueprint for the development of psychiatric services. The report noted that a shortage of staff was leading to lengthening waiting lists, particularly for young people with mental health difficulties who needed to be seen by child and adolescent mental health teams. The report highlighted how the waiting list for child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, had increased to 2,866 people in January, representing an increase of more than 8% on the same month in 2014. A total of 429 children were waiting for longer than one year to be seen by services. One in five children's admissions to mental health institutions was made to an adult psychiatric ward in spite of Government promises to end this practice. In 2014, the figure was 89 children. In 2013, it was 98. These are damning statistics. Of the 15 children who were involuntarily detained last year by order of a court, nine were sent to adult units.

Last year's 40% cut to the mental health budget reflects the Government's lack of commitment to mental health services while the €15 million withdrawn from the service to prop up other ailing services within the HSE has not been restored as of yet. This major deficit has led to additional problems in community care, which is in a fragile situation. Deputy Fitzmaurice has explained to me that it is in a state of collapse in the west, given the significant pressure on staff that has meant that patients are not being seen properly. My county has the same difficulties.

The 2011 programme for Government states, "We will endeavour to end the practice of placing children and adolescents in adult psychiatric wards." Will the Government ensure that this practice is addressed, appropriate facilities and specialised services are made available in the short term and the €15 million removed from mental health services by the HSE is restored immediately?

Hear, hear.

In line with the programme for Government commitment, the priority demonstrated by the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and the Government has been to modernise our mental health services, notwithstanding the severe resource constraints of the past four years in particular. What we are seeking to do, and have done to a great extent, is to prioritise new resources to underpin the implementation of A Vision for Change.

The Deputy pointed to an issue. That is his role and I respect that. I accept that deficits and issues remain to be addressed, but the Deputy must accept, and I hope that the House will accept it also, the fact that the Government has provided an additional €125 million and 1,150 posts for mental health services between 2012 and 2015, comprising €35 million and 416 posts in 2012, €35 million and 477 posts in 2013 and €20 million for the recruitment of 251 posts last year. One can always say that this is not enough and that more needs to be done. I will have a respectful debate with the Deputy about that, but he should please acknowledge what has been done as well as the priority that has been accorded to this matter.

The Government needs to focus on the patients.

Patients are being turned away.

The Minister is forgetting about the patients.

Please acknowledge the fact that the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, in particular has made this a central priority and ensured that real progress has been made.

The Minister has lost it now.

Discussions are taking place between the Department of Health and the HSE on the final allocation of an additional €35 million that was provided for mental health services in budget 2015. I expect that the allocation will be finalised in the near future.

The sustained investment in mental health services by the Government since 2012 has enabled the HSE to recruit staff who are more suited to the development of a community-focused mental health service, which has been every Deputy's objective as we seek to improve services. This additional money and resourcing have provided for the requisite change in the mix of staff, in particular allied health professionals, across community mental health teams in line with A Vision for Change.

As of the end of March, 397 - 95.5% - of the 416 posts approved in 2012 and 405 - 85% - of the 477 posts approved in 2013 were in place. Of the 251 posts allocated in 2014, 50 staff have started and a further 70 posts are at various stages in the recruitment process.

The Deputy will accept that some of these processes take time. That is the actual picture.

The admission of children to adult psychiatric hospitals is an issue that the Deputy raises fairly. We have to acknowledge that this issue has to be resolved. It requires the allocation of resources and those resources are being applied. It is clear from the 2015 HSE service plan that this issue remains a key priority. As Deputies will be aware, reducing the number of children admitted to adult psychiatric units has been a focus of HSE mental health services over recent years. There were 89 admissions of children to adult psychiatric units in 2014. The Deputy might fairly say that this was 89 too many-----

If it is a small number, it can be tackled.

-----but I would point out that the number had reduced from 247 in 2008. These are the actual facts. The Deputy raised some facts. He has to acknowledge that these are also facts.

The focus should be on the patient.

The Minister was asked a question.

It was worse when the Deputy was in government.

As a former Minister of State at the Department of Health, the Minister, Deputy White, has a particularly good insight into the health services in general. I am sure the Minister and his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, are well aware of the need to secure proportionate amounts that are justifiable in the Department of Health. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is doing her utmost, but she is battling against the tide in many respects as she tries to fulfil her psychiatric responsibilities in the Department. The Government has to be realistic about this matter. It needs to give a proper slice of the cake to mental health services. For historical reasons, mental health services are starting from a very low financial base. It is not right that it accounts for such a low proportion of the overall health budget. This is reflected across the country, including in my county of Kerry. The staffing problems in the Kerry mental health services are caused by the lack of nurses on the ground and the continuing retirements. Staff numbers are continuing to decline. For every two nurses being taken on, three are retiring. Overtime is being paid for, but this is an expensive option. Many health nurses are unemployed, have emigrated or are working as care staff in private nursing homes. They cannot get jobs as registered psychiatric nurses with the HSE locally. That is not proper. The mental health services in County Kerry need a minimum of 25 whole-time equivalent nursing posts as a priority to end overtime and ensure services are fully staffed. I will mention one major item in this context. The HSE spent approximately €3 million on a state-of-the-art four-bed high-observation psychiatric unit at Kerry General Hospital to deal with, treat and manage patients with challenging and disturbing behaviours. The four-bed specialised unit was completed last December but remains closed because the HSE does not have enough nurses to staff it. I ask the Minister to bring this matter to the attention of his colleagues, particularly the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, and ask them to address it urgently.

Sometimes the facts and figures obscure the real human situations that lie behind the health issues and demands that many people have. This is particularly true in the area of mental health. When we are accused of failing to deliver or not addressing the real issues that exist, we have to give the House the facts and figures. I make no apologies for doing that in this case. I will give some examples of the work being done by this Government. I ask the House to acknowledge that the full mental health budget for 2015 will be approximately €792 million. Some of this year's money will be spent on additional resource officers and priority actions. A new suicide prevention strategy was announced by the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, with the Taoiseach yesterday. Some €2.75 million is being allocated for additional resource officers. I emphasise the word "additional" in that context. Additional resources of €2.7 million are being provided for child and adolescent inpatient eating disorder development. This is a real issue that comes up. I am sure Deputies come across queries and issues raised by constituents in this regard. Additional resources of €2.5 million are being provided for child and adolescent teams in day hospital. The great Jigsaw project is being given €2.4 million for the development of additional centres in Cork and Dublin. An allocation of €3 million is being made for additional resources for additional mental health and intellectual disability services. An allocation of €1.1 million is being made this year for additional resources for additional mental health services for homeless people. An additional €700,000 is being provided for additional Traveller mental health services. I ask Deputies to acknowledge that these issues are being addressed by the Department, the Minister and the Government.

Let them eat cake.

There is a nervous laugh from the other side every time I make that point.

It is not nervous at all.

Of course the job of the Opposition-----

Why are people ringing us up to say they cannot access services?

-----is to point up gaps in services.

This is all baloney. The Minister should answer the man's question instead of giving obscure figures.

If we are to have any hope of making-----

The Minister is using figures and facts to obscure the issue.

-----progress in the area of mental health services, we have to agree on what are the basic requirements.

The first requirement is space for people.

The Government and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, have made enormous progress in this area, particularly at a time of constrained resources.

The Minister is codding himself.

It is difficult for the Members opposite to accept the facts I have set out.

If the Minister goes down to look at the mental health services in the west, he will soon see what is going on.