Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I am aware there is more positive thinking about how this issue should be dealt with. In 2006, A Vision for Change was launched on the basis of 8% of the health budget being spent on mental health when in fact it only reached 7.2%. It has since been cut back to 5.2%. According to the World Health Organization, mental health illness accounts for more than 15% of the disease burden in developed countries. It is reckoned that 11% of Irish people have personally experienced mental health problems. I agree that putting resources into the community is the way forward. In Wexford, there are four units that work well and are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. After 5 p.m., people have to go to an accident and emergency unit in Wexford and if they are referred to Waterford, they have to go through the accident and emergency unit there before eventually being admitted to an acute unit. Until we sort out the services in the community, will the Minister agree that in the meantime there is a need for acute units in Wexford?

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