Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On the counselling work, since the Minister brought it up, in my previous role as the mental health spokesperson, I raised this a number of times. At one stage, there was a two-year waiting list for somebody to see a psychologist. There was 153 days on average for a psychological appointment in the training unit in the Dóchas. The average wait was 893 days, so that is more than two years for an appointment. Have there been any additional resources to cut the waiting list back? Excuse the pun, but when somebody is in prison, he or she is a captive audience. This is somebody who will be able to go appointments and meetings while he or she is in there. That needs to be looked at.