RESPONSE: Investing in early intervention supports for young people is essential – JIGSAW

Jigsaw welcome the statement issued today (February 5th, 2025) on the need for reform of mental healthcare in Ireland from John Farrelly, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Commission IRL, the regulator for mental health services in Ireland.

Commenting this morning in the Journal, Mr Farrelly calls on the government to move away from ‘short-term fixes’ and focus on building a ‘modern and accessible community mental health services that will become our first port of call if we are unwell’.

Dr Joseph Duffy, CEO of Jigsaw, responded:

“The comments from Mr Farrelly are timely and important as we start a national debate on how to support young people as a country. Sadly, the youth mental health crisis we are experiencing in Ireland today is a significant and growing issue. We must act now. Doing more of the same is no longer good enough. 

“Our current approach to mental healthcare in Ireland is not preventing preventable illness. We are allowing the number of more serious illness to grow and young people to fall through the gaps.

“Imagine if we treated heart disease the same way we treat youth mental health. Instead of encouraging healthy habits, regular check-ups, and early intervention, we’d wait until someone had a full-blown heart attack before offering treatment.

“We don’t wait for a heart attack to take heart health seriously—so why wait for a crisis to take youth mental health seriously?”

“We need more community mental health services for young people struggling with anxiety, depression, or stress, so we can reduce the number of lifelong mental health conditions, costly hospitalizations, and personal suffering. Early intervention when someone is suffering is key. ”