Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

The HSE has advised the Department of Health and Children that because of competing expenditure pressures and the overriding obligation to live within the approved overall allocation, some of the planned developments in mental health services in 2006 and 2007 have been delayed. While this has been disappointing to me and to all involved in mental health services, I note that some of these developments will proceed in 2008, for example, the provision of eight additional consultant child psychiatry teams, the provision of 18 additional beds for children and adolescents at St. Anne's, Galway, St. Vincent's, Fairview and St. Stephen's Hospital, Cork. The provision of these beds will increase the bed complement from the current provision of 12 to 30 during 2008.

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