Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I know the Minister of State is sincere and that problems predate his appointment by some distance. There is a lot of discussion about prevention, and rightly so. It is vitally important to resolve this crisis and prevention has to be at the fore. It is going to take many years to build this system properly. There will be prevention in schools and in the wider community. That is going to take some time to work through the system. Meanwhile, we have people in crisis and people who require urgent healthcare. Sometimes a distinction is drawn between physical health and mental health that is not helpful. These are people who are often in bad health and require urgent attention. Often, they are not able to get it, not because the staff are not up to it but because they are overstretched. They need much more support. A Vision for Change is 12 years old. We have only two thirds of the staffing level or a little more than that. That badly needs to be addressed to ensure people get the service they deserve.

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