Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

My time is nearly up. Mr. Farrelly is not really answering my question. I hope I will be able to come back in later in the meeting. The commission has stood over the transfer of Owenacurra residents to inferior ward-based settings, cutting them off from the community, but it has taken a different stance on other situations. Has that called into question the oversight of these things by the commission? For example, we know that the remaining residents and their families were left distraught by Mr. Farrelly's comments in the Irish Examinera few weeks ago, when he stated that appropriate safeguards were in place to uphold their rights. What the families describe is a prolonged ordeal of being offered placements that do not meet their relatives' needs, not being consulted and so on. We had the whole issue in respect of failure to consult with communities. Dr. Finnerty wrote to a family member last October and stated that she could not arrange a meeting with the families due to legal constraints. A few weeks prior to that, however, Mr. Farrelly appeared, alongside a family member, on "Drivetime" on RTÉ radio for an extended interview on the closure. Now we have the witnesses coming before the committee and stating they will not discuss Owenacurra specifically, yet Mr. Farrelly just mentioned St. Stephen's hospital. They have not explained to the committee why they will not address the situation. The way Mr. Farrelly spoke to Deputy Hourigan is another issue. Will all this call into question the Mental Health Commission? Will it have an impact on people's views in respect of an extension of its remit into community adult and children mental health teams?