Dáil debates

Tuesday, 5 December 2006

3:00 pm

Photo of Bertie AhernBertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The National Treatment Purchase Fund normally deals with a waiting list issue where there is no follow on and is not involved in assessment where it is continuing on with a programme. If there is a quicker way of doing it, there is obviously no difficulty opening this up.

I cannot let Deputy Rabbitte's first question, which stated that we have been here for ten years but that nothing has happened, go. I will not remind him of what used to happen in the mental health area ten years ago, but he knows this budget has dramatically increased every year. It is nothing other than the increase in staff. This year, 400 additional staff were hired. The area is not bound by the embargo so this will not affect teams. They have had to work hard this year to increase the 45 teams by a further eight simply to fill the posts and get professional staff to deal with these issues. It is not a money issue.

A total of €500 million in the health programme goes towards the building programme but they cannot build everything. As is outlined in the A Vision for Change report, they must deal with closing the remaining mental hospitals and reinvesting the resources realised as a consequence in the health services, as recommended, and building up staff.

In respect of what the former Minister for Education, Deputy Woods, said many years ago, I am informed that all primary and post-primary schools have access to psychological assessments for their pupils directly——

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