Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We heard from several organisations today which are all doing very good work, and their representatives made very good presentations. I do not know how many more such organisations there are from which we have not heard. I would like to ask about the diversity of the organisations. There is obviously a similarity among them due to the fact that they are engaged in the same work, but now there are many such organisations, and while I would not say there is duplication of the work, there could be a move towards that. That applies to other areas as well and not only to advocacy. In the matter in which I have an interest, that of suicide prevention, there are more than 200 organisations around the country, which is also a concern. It needs to be examined in a way that is supportive of them and that allows them to be assisted. Have the representatives any comment to make on the diversity of the organisations in the advocacy area? Four or five organisations contacted us about today's discussion, but how many similar organisations are there? I know of the Irish Advocacy Network but I do not know much about it other than that it advocates for mental health services.