Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It falls to me to conclude the debate on our motion. I will do so by firstly thanking people for their contributions and acknowledging people who came along. I also want to make it plain that at no stage did I or any of my colleagues set a hostile tone nor would we. Why should we? This issue is far too important for all of us, not just as public representatives but as human beings, for that to be the case.

People have said a lot of things, 99% of which I heartily agree with. Yes, we need to look at the model of care, the social context and the issue of dual diagnosis. I know work is under way in the HSE in that regard. As I said at the beginning of the debate, I could have presented a motion the length of the Chamber with all of the things we need to do and I think all of us would have agreed broadly about the things we need to do but here is the problem with that. Ten years on, A Vision for Change has not been delivered. It would be unfair to lay this at the feet of the Minister of State. That is not the intention of this debate - far from it. However, there is a political accountability aspect in the middle of all of this and we must accept that collectively.

I take a very straightforward view when faced with a massive social dilemma and tragedy. I ask myself what the better option is. Do we need a pat repetition of "we need the delivery of A Vision for Change" and a big long list even though we need this list or do we resolve to start at the start? This is what our motion is proposing this evening. It is not about inviting anybody to make a choice between prevention and cure. That would be an utterly facile thing to do but we are asking people to focus at the sharpest end of this problem. We are asking for us to start at the start - at those times when people in deep crisis are on the verge of life and death choices.

In those moments, in the wee hours, at the weekend or late at night, there are no services. This is the rationale for the focus of the motion on 24-7 crisis intervention.

We do not suggest it is the beginning, middle and end of the picture. We know it is not. However, we argue, and there are people in the Gallery who would argue more articulately than I can and from very deep personal experience, that if we want to start somewhere, this is the place to start. For this reason, we are not in a position to support the Government amendment or the amendment from our colleagues in Fianna Fáil. It is our strong resolve that we do not need a generalised commitment to come from this debate. We all respect each other as human beings. We do not need that again. We need the concrete, cross-party commitment to 24-7 crisis treatment, an implementation plan and the delivery of the plan, as set out in our motion. I appeal to people, in the best of spirits, that we all agree on this point. Let us make it happen and then, my friends, the rest can surely follow.

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