Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State said that location of the Decision Support Service within the Mental Health Commission is a perfect fit, which contradicts the point she made earlier that the ideal would be a stand-alone agency but because the Government has committed to not creating any new agencies another appropriate location had to be found. It seems to me to be a very blunt tool that because the Government is committed to not creating any new agencies, despite that it, independent experts and so on recognise that in this case the ideal would be the establishment of an independent agency, the Minister of State's hands are in that regard tied. This would indicate that the Mental Health Commission is not a perfect fit. From the Minister of State's point of view it appears to be a second best option. Related to that is the lack of consultation with the key stakeholders who, despite having advocated for an independent agency, feel their views in that respect were not taken on board.

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