Voluntary groups representing people suffering from mental illness have called on the Government to keep its promise to improve the regime of care and treatment for that sector of society.
The social taboo surrounding mental illness in Ireland has led to vast, unnecessary human suffering, mental health campaigners heard today.
At the launch of a new document outlining principles of good practice in the treatment, care and recovery of people with schizophrenia, speakers urged the Government to take immediate steps to improve services for those with mental illness.
Towards Recoveryis jointly published by Schizophrenia Ireland and the Irish Psychiatric Association. The publication coincides with Lucia Week, an annual series of events to promote awareness of mental illness.
Senator Feargal Quinn, who spoke at the launch in Dublin, said people often spoke of a "two-tier" health system.
In fact, there was a third tier representing those suffering from mental illness, he said. This issue was swept under the carpet and was representative of "a shocking neglect for a section of our society that is least well equipped to look after itself, to stand up for its own interests".
He said reports of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals in recent years had revealed a totally inadequate level of care for those with mental illness.
"We have done a very good job of sweeping it under the carpet and by doing so we have made it possible for the State to provide a totally inadequate level of care," he said.
Mr Quinn said the conditions in which many people with mental illness lived were allowed to exist only because they were not visible. Plans to change the situation through legislation had been frustrated by the "refusal" of the Department of Finance to make available the necessary funding to improve things, he said.
This called into question the sincerity of any governnment in its approach to mental health services.
The new document outlines the importance of early identification and diagnosis of schizophrenia and the fact that this can lead to a greater chance of total recovery. Schizophrenia affects approximately one in 100 people worldwide at some stage in their lives.
Mr Quinn called for the expedition of the planned legislation to ensure that people are not committed to mental institutions unnecessarily. He cited a report issued by the Mental Health Commission this week which said Irish admission rates for every 100,000 people over the age of 16 were 100, compared to 80 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland and 25 per 100,000 in Italy.
"This means 2,000 people are being admitted to psychiatric hospitals against their will every year," he said.
Mr John Saunders, director of Schizophrenia Ireland, said his organisation and campaigners in the field of mental illness anxiously awaited action by the Government in response to its promise in the Health Strategy to improve policy on mental health care services in Ireland.
Speakers also highlighted the need for future policy on mental illness to focus on providing care for people in their own homes and the need to involve them in their own treatment.