Katie Quinlan writes about her anger at the Government’s continuing silence on the issue of mental health.
Last week, we published an open letter from Katie Quinlan to the Minister for Health regarding the switching of funds that had been earmarked to improve mental health services in this country.
Read more about those cuts here.
Katie was moved by the response to her piece from friends, relatives, and the many strangers who had read her words on this site.
However, the silence from Leinster House has left her – and many JOE readers – angrier and more frustrated now than when the withdrawal of €12m from the budget was announced.
Once again, she’s calling for action, and has asked us to share this piece.
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I’m not addressing my thoughts to Mr. Varadkar this time, I’m addressing my thoughts to the people of this country who stood together in disgust last week at the €12 million cuts to the Mental Health budget.
I’m still furious and I hope you are too.
Last week we stood together unanimously against these cuts. My letter to the Minister for Health was shared hundreds of times on social media, read aloud in the Dáil and posted to the Minister for Health’s office.
I have yet to receive any response from the minister, even an acknowledgment that he received the letter would be better than the deafening silence coming from Leinster House.
Their lack of reply only furthers the idea that this government is entirely disconnected from the reality of mental health issues in Irish society.
Now is not the time for us to give up.
Since publishing the letter, numerous strangers have contacted me and told their personal mental health stories whether it’s a battle with depression, a suicide attempt or a schizophrenia diagnosis.
People who have lost family members or friends have told me their stories of loss and their fear of this happening again. Only this weekend I found myself feeling more anxious, unable to be around people and reluctant to leave my bed.
We can’t afford to lose our voice when these people are being so brave.
Katie Quinlan
If the minister doesn’t think I’m worthy of a reply, let’s see him ignore the thousands of people who have voiced their anger at his decision. We didn’t elect this government to allow them to hide away and avoid being held accountable for their actions.
At some point, either this week or next, the Dáil will hear Statements on Mental Health again. This is our chance to do something within the political sphere on this issue.
Email your TD telling them your thoughts on mental health, your frustration at the cuts and make sure they are representing you tomorrow morning in the Dáil.
If you’re unsure who your TD is you’ll find all the details here. Even without these cuts these services are failing and service users are struggling to access them, these cuts only further the idea that mental health is not a priority.
These cuts tell people to remain silent and avoid asking for help; we’ve done that for long enough as a nation.
We’ve lost enough lives to the stay silent mentality, we can’t let it continue.
Let’s force them to listen to all of us. This fight is far from over yet.
Remember, if you are feeling low – you are not alone. There are many people and organisations out there who will do their utmost to get you the help you need.
Have your say on the major issues affecting people in Ireland in 2016 – take our Slice of Ireland survey here
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