Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests. I congratulate the representatives on their input during the past 17 difficult months in their efforts to continue with their programme and sticking to their objective, and not being pushed off their objective. I congratulate the workers also on the work that has progressed during this difficult time.

I turn to the quality of services expected and proposed and I will raise some questions on psychiatric requirements and health. All of us have come across difficult cases recently, whereby children and adolescents who require psychiatric care and attention are having difficulty in accessing programmes, residential places, care and attention. I am concerned that an increased number of people feel they are excluded from the system, nobody cares for them, there is little provision of medical psychiatric attention for them, and they are abandoned. Some of these have been the subject of court cases and some of them involve the Departments of Education and Health. This situation has now come to a serious stage where it is imperative that some action be taken, of an emergency nature, to deal with these issues. I open this to any of the witnesses who wish to respond.