Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I heard the Minister's earlier reply to Deputy Ó Caoláin. I accept the Minister is starting to make some progress in this area but we would accept there is much catch-up to do. The Minister is well aware that there is a strong link between substance abuse and mental illness. Without it sounding too much as if I am engaging in parish pump politics about this, Wexford has suffered more than most areas and things are particularly difficult there. Successive budgets have slashed up to 25% of provision in this area. We have no 24-hour acute mental health facility in the county. The Cornmarket project in Wexford, which provides a drug rehabilitation programme, has noted a yearly increase of 20% in the number of clients accessing its drug rehabilitation programme. There are particular problems and challenges there which the Minister might consider attending to.

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