IMHC launched to put mental health on the political agenda - Friday 29th June 2006.
The Irish Mental Health Coalition was launched today at Buswells Hotel in Dublin. For the first time, Irish organisations are formally uniting with the aim of harnessing the support of all stakeholders to campaign for improvement in mental health services. The coalition was established by Amnesty International (Irish Section), Bodywhys - The Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, GROW in Ireland, the Irish Advocacy Network and Schizophrenia Ireland to advocate for people’s rights to the highest attainable standard of mental health and mental health services. It will run a nationwide campaign aimed at improving and prioritising these presently neglected services.
The coalition came together in recognition that mental health service users and providers are still struggling with an outdated, fragmented and severely under-resourced system. The coalition is demanding that the one in four people in Ireland with mental health problems and their families receive appropriate services. Ireland’s mental health expenditure has dropped from 13% in 1984 to just 7.3% of the national health budget in 2004. The coalition will be lobbying on Budget 2007, which it hopes will mark the turning point in the decades of erosion of mental health funding. The coalition’s Manifesto catalogues some of the problems within the mental health sector.
“A sustained, collective effort represents the best way of advancing mental health advocacy in Ireland. This coalition seeks to effect this by working together on a shared and focussed agenda. We want to strengthen the message and provide a greater impetus to help inspire real change that will improve the lives of people with mental health difficulties,” said John Saunders, Chair of the Irish Mental Health Coalition.
The coalition issued a call to all political representatives and election candidates to make a public commitment that they will take steps to work towards prioritising and improving mental health services in Ireland. The coalition welcomes everyone willing to take action to press elected representatives to make the necessary changes in mental health.END
For further information, please contact:
Fiona Crowley, Research & Legal Manager, Amnesty International (Irish Section): (01) 677 6361/(087) 250 5551
John Saunders, Director, Schizophrenia Ireland: (01) 860 1620/(087) 927 1292
Jennie O'Reilly, CEO, Bodywhys - The Eating Disorders Association of Ireland: (01) 283 4963
Aoife Walsh, National Communications/Funding Officer, GROW in Ireland: (01) 840 8236/(086) 389 6620
John Redican, CEO, Irish Advocacy Network: