Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The first thing we need is more data to see the extent of the problem. We know what is happening. We know because young people ring politicians in the middle of the night. They should not be ringing us to ask us for clinical help. We also know from the Irish Patients Association report and yesterday's HSE report that many people who present at emergency departments get fed up waiting for hours and they leave. This is a very dangerous situation for us to be in, as well as the fact that it compounds the problem in emergency departments. We have to quantify the problem and then see that we do not have enough.

With regard to the Psychological Society of Ireland, the sponsor pays 60% of the course fee and the student pays 40% in the case of clinical psychologists. What are the terms and conditions associated with the sponsorship? Is there a public service requirement in it? Could the students emigrate or move to the private sector on completion of their studies?