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

I know recruitment is a massive problem. We know that the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, sees this and he is trying to do his best. I ask him to use his and the Government's power to try to solve this. No amount of money is too much to ensure that services can finally be put in place. It is more than 12 years since A Vision for Change. As I mentioned, 70 schoolchildren died last year. How many have attempted to take their lives? How many have self-harmed or abused drugs or alcohol? We do not know. We surely cannot allow this to continue. It is a national emergency. These are children. They are people's sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers. We said all this before. On the future of mental health care, I ask the Minister of State to listen to the recommendations of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care. Listen to our proposals, talk to the unions and please make the changes that we need so that we can get this right. I do not care what it takes. Prevention is better than cure. I appeal to the Minister of State to take everything on board.

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