David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is not agreed. I ask that the Government provide time to discuss the Children's Rights Alliance report card to which reference was made on Leader's Questions. The Taoiseach engaged in a great deal of spin regarding a range of areas in the context of the report that was given to the Government. One area where the Government was given a failing grade, namely, an E grade, was in mental health and children in adult psychiatric services. That should come as no surprise to anyone in this House because we have failed far too many of those children for too long. It is not just report; reports from the children's ombudsman, the Mental Health Commission and many other entities have criticised the Government in this regard. An E grade is an absolute disgrace, particularly when we are talking about extremely vulnerable children. Given that the Taoiseach engaged in a great deal of spin and the he thinks he has a story to tell - I do not believe he has - I am making a reasonable request that the Government provide time for a debate on this matter this week. If that is not possible, I ask that we do it next week. It is really important that these issues are properly debated.

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