Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is something I would like to put on the record. This whole discussion is here in this petition. As Mr. O'Sullivan noted in his opening statement, "What this petition asks is simply that the measures, already approved, be validated immediately so that the public may benefit from them at a time when the public health system cannot meet the demand for services." It is as simple as that. That is the message. I have written this down in my notes here - I tend to scribble a lot - and I will be putting in parliamentary questions on why that has not happened, what the timeframe is and why nothing has gone forward since November 2018. It is absolutely mind-boggling in the current climate. I do not even have to mention the year but it is mind-boggling in the current climate with the way people are suffering.

Mr. O'Sullivan is right. Whether it is psychotherapy, counselling, psychology or whatever, we need joined-up thinking. It is about treating the person, basically, not the problem. I know people who had PTSD and did not even know it. Unfortunately, they just plodded along and as Mr. O'Sullivan says, they will hide or self-medicate with alcohol or whatever but they will always be there. I have no problem saying this. I had tragedies in my life and I did not know I was going through a bout of depression at the time. When I sat down and spoke about it to a qualified person it was like having six bags of cement on my back and six on my chest but every time I offloaded, a bag of cement came off. We actually became friends after. That is probably one of the good stories. That is why I empathise with Mr. O'Sullivan. As the fella says, walk in my shoes. That is basically what it is. It is a pleasure to have him in here as a witness today. It is vitally important that he is raising these issues because people outside this box here think we know everything but we do not. We need to be told as well when things have not been going right. This committee is very good because it is non-political. This is the last chance for anybody to actually be heard but everybody's voice should be heard whether you agree or disagree with them. Everybody should be heard. I just want to thank Mr. O'Sullivan for that. I will be following up on this.