Cassells calls for HSE director of mental health to be reinstated
Senator Shane Cassells wants the reinstatement of the HSE director of mental health. The position was abolished in 2017 and Senator Cassells raised the matter with the Minister of State for Mental Health, Mary Butler, TD, during a Commencement Motion he tabled in the Seanad last week.
“There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to reinstate this role, which existed from 2013 to 2017 and was then merged into another aspect of the HSE,” said Senator Cassells.
“We have a new mental health strategy in Sharing the Vision but there is no point in the minister of state doing so much good work in crafting new policies unless there is someone driving that strategy and making sure we are getting the results we need.
“One man I have spoken about previously, who is a champion of positive mental health and who has used his national profile to campaign on the issue, is Rory O’Connor, who runs Rory’s Stories on Facebook
“I spoke to him before coming to this chamber and he said, ‘Shane, a big storm is coming, and we need to put up the umbrellas’.
“He also spoke about the impact on men in their 60s from his work with Men’s Sheds. These are people who would not normally be well able to express their emotions and how they are feeling.
“I am calling for the reinstatement of the director of mental health services. I know that Minister Butler has introduced a new scheme and has allocated €1 million for 16,500 talk therapy sessions, which are free of charge for those affected by the isolation of Covid-19.
“That is the kind of work that Minister Butler has been doing and I praise her for that - however, as I said, the call here is to ensure that we reinstate the director for mental services so that we drive that strategy that the minister of state wants to see happen,” concluded Senator Cassells.
Responding to Senator Cassells’ motion, Minister Butler said: “It is a hugely importantly issue. I have consistently sought the reinstatement of a national director for mental health post in the HSE since coming into my post a year and a half ago.
“The Programme for Government commits to examining the reinstatement of the national directorate for mental health. I am confident that I have the full support of colleagues in this matter given the importance of mental health.
“It is vital to have this important post of HSE national director of mental health reinstated to give strategic direction to the development and improvement of mental health services,” the minister said.