Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I express an interest, being very closely aligned with the PNA. I welcome the witnesses. I am delighted to see the response around this table. We have been raising this issue for years and have not got this message out of how desperate the situation is in our mental health services.

I want to go back on a few points. I talked a lot in past committee meetings. I disagree with Deputy Neville. We live with the legacy of the yellowpack offer now. The nurses forced out at that time will not come back. They will not come back under any circumstances. It is to do with Mr. Tony O'Brien never saying sorry. Those nurses are in Australia and the UK. I disagree as well with Deputy Harty that it is global. Global goes both ways. Why are we not getting people from other countries and not necessarily our Irish nurses back? Something is lacking. Pay is one part of it, along with accommodation. However, I also refer to educational opportunities and using the skills that we have.

I wish to talk about generic nursing when it was mooted. I know the Chair has asked that question about other health care workers filling the gap. The Government wanted to scrap psychiatric nursing in its entirety some years ago and just have generic nursing. We fought really hard for it.

Research from around the world, in particular in Australia, shows that services for psychiatric patients have decreased and there is a lack of expertise, which has a negative effect on the experience and chance of recovery for patients.

A home-based scheme with outreach teams has operated in Cavan-Monaghan for a while. The initiative has led to a 72% reduction in the number of admissions to psychiatric hospitals. The 24-7 service has tried to replicate that success throughout the country. It would be great if people were a lot more knowledgeable about the home-based scheme.

I want to say to Mr. Hughes that if any business anywhere is 120% over capacity, then health and safety should be called in. Can the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, be called upon to resolve this matter? Unfortunately, one cannot do so because morally one cannot shut down services, and in some cases they have been shut down. If an organisation in any other sector was 120% over capacity, it would be deemed dangerous.