Clonmel priest lobbies junior health minister for improved mental health services in Tipperary

The absence of any beds for mental health services in Tipperary is the top priority for Jim Daly, Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, and he hopes to have such a facility available as soon as possible.

That’s according to Clonmel priest Fr. Michael Toomey, following a meeting with the minister of state held at the Department of Health in Dublin.

Minister Daly said he would raise the concerns and suggestions put to him by Fr. Toomey at the government meeting about mental health services, which is scheduled for Tipperary this month . 

The meeting with the minister of state  followed concerns raised by Fr. Toomey about the lack of mental health services in the area, following a series of recent suicides in South Tipperary.

Fr. Toomey, a curate in Ss Peter and Paul’s in Clonmel, has described the closure of the St. Michael’s psychiatric unit in the town seven years ago as “a travesty”, and called for its reopening.

Fr. Toomey says that society needs to be open about suicide and mental health problems – and that the government needs to “step up” to help tackle the crisis.

Before meeting the minister, he presented a list of possible action points to consider,  from the wide-ranging feedback from many people, families and agencies, all with the same grievance. 

These included the opening  of mental health beds, as Tipperary has no such beds available in the county and the St. Luke’s unit in Kilkenny cannot cope;  the appointment of a Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse, as is available in other parts of the country; a task force to look at the issues many people are facing, noting that Tipperary has had a higher than national average for suicide in the past five years; and support for the Gardaí in resources and in promoting positive mental health programmes  and better drug prevention schemes in schools.

 Fr. Toomey  informed the minister that from speaking to a local GP, parents, teachers,  suicide prevention volunteer groups, the Gardaí, students, local Mayors and councillors, and a young man with a drug addiction, “it is clear that support for mental health and drug prevention is seriously lacking across the whole area”.

Fr. Toomey said that the minister had given him a number of ideas and commitments to assist the local community and to plan ahead in improving the issues raised. 

These included that the CEO of the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) in the HSE, and the local HSE office for Tipperary would make contact as a follow-up of the various suggestions mentioned, with a view to setting up the suggested task force locally.

Fr. Toomey has appealed for  parents to talk more openly with their children about mental health and drug issues, as he is seeing the issue across all age groups. 

“To any parent who states that my child can talk to me about anything, and would never be involved in drugs or suicide, sadly I am sitting with parents who say to me after a tragedy ‘if only my child spoke to me’”, Fr. Toomey  said. 

He noted from all of the students he spoke to, both school and college students, that mental health and drug usage is impacting so many and is prevalent in our society.

He said that drug usage was now becoming more “normalised” in society today, and he  encouraged anyone who was dealing with any of these issues to contact one of the many services available nationally and locally. 

These include The Samaritans (tel. 116-123); Pieta House (tel. 1800 247 247); Childline (1800 66 66 66) and Teenline (1800 833 634).

He said there were other local organisations that could also help, including C-SAW, River Suir Suicide Patrol  and Taxi Watch.