Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also want to welcome the people from the HSE. We all agree that this has been a terrible neglect or hurt of many children in south Kerry. We all know that as boys and girls grow into men and women and their bodies change physically, many have mental health problems. I regret what seems to have been happening in many instances, which I believe was going on beyond the numbers we have heard about since the report came out. It seems as though what happened was that drugs were pumped into these lovely children, which greatly changed their personalities. It slowed them down and could have had the effect of increasing their weight. Their personalities totally change and they stop smiling. I have seen it over the years. It has happened in greater numbers in the past five years in south Kerry. It is not acceptable. We need more psychologists to talk to these young people. They need to get time, rather than being given injections and being sent out the door.

There is a question of compensation for all the children affected. I do not think they can ever be adequately compensated for what has been done to their lives over so many years. It is terrible. What will happen from today onwards? Children are developing mental health issues, if that is the term, and they have to be seen to today by psychiatrists. I still worry and am not satisfied that we will have a system in place where someone is looking over the shoulder of the person who is meting out the medication or whatever it is to ensure that these people get back on track. There must be some control. To think that someone was doing that work for four or five whole years and let so many people down. The parents and the children did nothing at all wrong. On whose instructions did this locum doctor think he was doing right? There should have been a review of what he was doing on a weekly basis, if not even daily. People only get one chance on this earth. If they fail and go down on themselves it is very hard to bring them back up. We have to ensure that some better structures are put in place. In addition to psychiatrists, should we also have more psychologists? Mental health issues can be helped by talking to people. That is what psychologists do. Do we have enough of those and will there be enough of them?

From today on, how will we deal better with this than we have done? I cannot understand why we cannot get a senior consultant. But even then, I do not think one consultant is enough. I heard Ms O'Connor say that there should be a team but we have to ensure that there is. While we hear of massive sums being allocated to the Department of Health in the budget each year, it does not manifest itself in the treatment of mental health, or at least down in Kerry anyway; let every person who is representing other counties talk about their own counties.

The structures by which this went on for five years are totally wrong.

I believe, and have believed since my father's time, that when the regional health boards were in place, there was more interaction with doctors and consultants. If there was a local issue, like this one, in community care or primary care, it was discussed around the table and sorted out. There does not seem to be the accountability that is needed. What assurances can the witnesses give that from here on, we will have a proper service to deal with these mental health issues that develop in young people? I ask that they ensure, without delay, that proper compensation is made available to these people whose lives have been totally ruined.