Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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We do not hand out those accolades very often. There are more simple improvements we can make in almost every area that would be of huge benefit to the population at large and would have a huge impact on the delivery of services.

The last point I will make is on mental health services and the associated services in the region of west Wicklow, south-west Dublin and Kildare. That is a very pressing area and has been for some time. The answers that come up all the time are, "We know that is a very pressing area and we are doing something about it", "We are trying to do something about it" or "We hope to do something about it", but we do not always achieve a result. For the past couple of years it has been a pressure area and some horrendous situations have arisen. I do not propose to relay them to the meeting but they are horrifying situations. People have been so neglected or badly treated and people are turfed out onto the street in the middle of the night because of a lack of space, failure to gain access to a bed in residential care at a crucial time for a child or an adult, failure to get a referral from somebody for a family member, a parent or a child, or whatever the case may be. We need to deal with those situations in a far more dramatic way than we have done to date. That will mean we will be able to stand up and say we have made the provision and talked about this long enough so it is now the time for delivery. The time for delivery in that CHO area in particular has gone past the sell-by date, and I ask that a special effort be made between now and the next meeting to deal with the situation and to take the pressure off. The pressure is on parents, family members, sons, daughters, whatever the case may be. Just a couple of weeks ago I spent a whole weekend trying to get accommodation. When I found the individuals concerned they were able to tell me where to go, what to do and so on, but it should be simple. There are provisions in the system already to respond to these situations, and we should not have to follow every situation individually.

That concludes my remarks. Again, those taking bows, be careful, and those who do not need to take a bow, be careful also.