Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. She accepts that there is a significant and growing demand for the CIPC service. We have had numerous discussions in the House about mental health and it keeps coming back to the same thing. We know that there is increased demand for the CIPC service. Why can we not fund it properly? The Government had promised to spend approximately €30 million on mental health services and now we are talking about €15 million. We know that there is a demand for 24/7 crisis intervention centres. We also know that there is a huge issue with understaffing in the CAMHS. The mental health budget has to be increased. I, therefore, ask the Minister of State to look at the issue again. I cannot overemphasise that not enough money has been invested in mental health services and people will suffer as a result.

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