Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

I wish to deal with two matters in this debate on the economy. One is the decision of the Government to suspend the implementation of two important reports, one being A Vision for Change on the development of the psychiatric services and the other is Reach Out, the expert group's recommendations on reducing the incidence of suicide. In June, the independent monitoring group in its report on implementation of A Vision for Change in 2007 states, in the absence of clear identifiable leadership within the HSE to implement A Vision of Change, the monitoring group considers that the Health Service Executive was mistaken in its decision not to implement the recommendations to establish a national mental health service directive to drive the changes recommended in the report. It also states that the monitoring group does not believe that the administrative arrangements that the HSE has put in place are appropriate to the scale of the changes required. It further states that the monitoring group notes that the HSE appointed a director of cancer services in 2007 to lead the implementation of the national cancer strategy. The report states that the reform of mental health services requires a similar approach.

What is proposed is an indictment of the approach and the resources put in place for the development of our psychiatric services. No additional funding was put in place this year for the implementation of the recommendations, as proposed by the report, A Vision for Change. Of the €51 million allocated in 2006 and 2007, only €27 million was allocated for the purpose the Minister responsible directed and the balance was hived off by the HSE for its own reasons.

In regard to Reach Out, the expert group's recommendations for reducing the incidence of suicide, only €3.05 million was allocated last year and only the same amount was allocated this year. Effectively, no further initiatives can be taken to reduce the incidence of suicide because no further resources have been made available. Furthermore, it could be argued that with the effect of inflation, the value of the resources allocated has been reduced.

Some £3 million sterling was allocated to the equivalent office in the North of Ireland. Taking account of population differences and the exchange rate, €10 million is the amount that should be allocated here if we were to match what is being done in the North to reduce the incidence of suicide. It is an indictment of the Government that one of the first areas to suffer cuts is in the area developing services for one of the most needy groups in society, those suffering from a psychiatric illness and in need of intervention and those who are in danger of taking their own lives.

Second, I would like to deal with the neglect of my area, the mid west, under the national development plan. The 2007 NDP report was revealing. Representatives of the National Roads Authority were available to meet us yesterday. I discussed my area with them and came away from the meeting with little hope of anything being done for County Limerick. One of the first projects I raised was the bypass of Adare, which is crucial for my constituency. The representatives admitted that they have seen the traffic in Adare, which can be backed up for three to four miles at peak times. Adare is a brilliant tourist product, but it is being destroyed by the level and congestion of traffic going through it. Not alone were the representatives not able to give me any encouragement that the bypass, which was mooted many years ago, would be completed in the near future, they informed me that the national parks and wildlife service of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has now decided that a section of the area identified for the bypass has been deemed a special area of conservation, which will create more difficulties for the completion of the project. I was totally depressed with the response I was given regarding the bypassing of Adare, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale.

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