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Seanad
‹ Order of Business

Mental health and St Ita's

Summary

Senator Reilly argued the Minister of State responsible for mental health is committed but must work within limited resources, while opposition Senators challenged his economic framing. He ended by commending a book on mental-health-friendly house design and seeking ring-fencing of filming income from St Ita’s Hospital for patients' benefit.

Paul Coghlan An Leas-Chathaoirleach Fine Gael

I call Senator James Reilly.

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Clearly, the issue of mental health-----

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Paul Coghlan An Leas-Chathaoirleach Fine Gael

I apologise but I overlooked the Labour Party Member, Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who was offering.

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So did the last Government.

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I will allow Senator James Reilly to go before me.

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Paul Coghlan An Leas-Chathaoirleach Fine Gael

That was my mistake.

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I thank my Labour Party colleague for his generosity.

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The bed is still warm.

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That is open to all sorts of interpretations.

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Paul Coghlan An Leas-Chathaoirleach Fine Gael

Yes, it is but we are on the Order of Business.

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They suffered for their generosity.

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The bed is made.

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On the serious issue of mental health, all sides of the House, and the other House, will acknowledge our Minister of State with responsibility for that area is hugely committed to it and has had a personal tragic experience of mental health issues in her own family. I have no doubt she would have no problem explaining how the moneys are being spent and the Government's commitment to this area.

However, we have limited resources. We have wage demands right across the public sector, which will compete with the moneys we have to put into services. We need to live in the real world. It is all very well for the Sinn Féin leader, who has since left the Chamber because she is not interested in the responses to her delivery here, to talk about people challenging her economics. Sinn Féin's economics seem to be everybody can have everything they want and somebody else will pay for it.

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We will not subsidise the rich.

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That is not the real world.

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The Government gave €21 million in tax relief to the rich.

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That is not the real world, as Senator Gavan knows as a trade unionist himself.

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Paul Coghlan An Leas-Chathaoirleach Fine Gael

Order, please. Senator James Reilly has only two minutes left.

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I want to end on a positive note. This week a new book on designing houses for people who face mental health challenges and how design can help them was published. I commend this book and I want to take the opportunity to advertise the fact that architects, builders and planners should refer to it.

Before I finish, there is another little bit of good news. In St. Ita's Hospital, a large psychiatric institution-----

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Paul Coghlan An Leas-Chathaoirleach Fine Gael

The Senator is over time.

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Well, if I had not been interrupted so much, I would have finished sooner.

The fine building of St. Ita's is being used as a film set with Sean Penn and Mel Gibson. I want to ensure the moneys which accrue to the hospital as a consequence of the filming are ring-fenced and used to the benefit of the clients who reside there, not for any other purposes.

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