Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Carlow is the same. I am aware of people in Carlow trying to access doctors. It is not the doctors' fault and I do not blame them. It is just that there are not enough doctors. A group from Carlow met a group from Holland recently. The main issue was that 18 years of age is the cut-off for services when one is young. Then one is an adult. However, in most countries they are provided up to 25 years of age. That is a massive issue for young people. One cannot access services from 18 to 25 years of age. We now have what is called transit, where one is caught if one is over 18 years of age. One must go to adult services, whereas one can get into the system if one is under 18 years of age. Who is deciding the age groups? Can this not be revamped? This is crucial. I was trying to look up information today and I saw that yesterday 73 requests for crisis information were received by Youth Suicide Prevention Ireland. That is unreal. People are crying out for help. There must be a better system in place.

I agree with the witnesses that it is all local. It is about one's own area, knowing one's patients and trying to access these services. It means everybody working together. Perhaps the witnesses could respond to the issues I raised. I was speaking to Senator Kelleher this morning about a family friend I was trying to help a few weeks ago. Her daughter was trying to commit suicide and she was put into hospital for two nights because she was on suicide watch. She came home but what services are there for her and her family? These are the areas that I believe are crying out for help. I hope the witnesses can give me some answers on the different areas I raised because I will be referring back to the different groups I have consulted. I am shocked at the number of groups that do not qualify for different services, yet we are told there is funding available.