Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In the programme for Government there are commitments on dealing with suicide prevention and mental health, and I wish to raise a number of very important issues around this. One is a project called WALK PEER, which serves mostly young people who have disabilities and trains them so that they can increase their skills and go forward, if possible, into jobs. The funding for this project has been cut and I want to ask the Taoiseach if he will reconsider that. We have already raised this with the Minister involved and particularly with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, who has promised to look at it. I ask the Taoiseach to give it some attention as well. Mental health is an issue affecting every single family across this State and across this island. Suicide is on the increase, yet funding for mental health has been substantially cut despite promises by the Government to do the exact opposite.

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