Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Hourigan for allowing me to take her slot, as I need to leave for another meeting. I thank the Minister of State and all the officials for their time. This is a really important issue. We speak quite often about mental health at this committee. It is at the intersection of every topic we come across. I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Health for her work since she has taken on responsibility for mental health and older people. I think we all agree that she has been reforming, and has been knee-deep in a lot of crises, from the pandemic to residential care. She has had her fair share of trials in this Department and she has taken on those challenges. We see this in the home care Bill and in her reforms where, as she said in her last contribution, she has ring-fenced that dementia budget for the first time. It is really important as that looks back to her previous career as chair of the cross-party dementia group. I want to congratulate her on that. It is also great to hear about her work with Minister of State, Deputy English, around visas. Staff are critical to everything we want rolled out in that integrated model of care. To see the Minister of State looking beyond the normal inter-relation is crucial, as it is both critical and absolutely urgent that we fill those spaces, particularly around home care. We know the challenges around getting that home care package. The money is there for that family or individual to get the care, but they are sitting lingering and waiting for that person. This committee will do everything it can to support that. I want to ask about the specialist ADHD clinics and how they can be accessed, as they are really important. I want to ask about progress on the mental health care model, as it is one of the main strands the Department is working on. I also want to take up the issue of mental health services in the Prison Service. There is a huge level of cross and dual diagnoses in the Prison Service. How is the Department working with the HSE and the Prison Service to improve the level of care and the outcomes for prisoners who have a mental health issue?