Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is a pity the Minister of State, some of his officials or the people who wrote his reply were not at the meeting. The Minister of State talked about pathways. There are no pathways. These people have nowhere to go. We had to hear all the hopelessness and helplessness of the parents and siblings who spoke at the meeting, although we knew it anyway. There are no beds. There is no space in Kilkenny for us and there is no room in Ennis or Limerick because they are full already. As far as CAMHS is concerned, we heard from the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, last week that the youth and adolescent centre in Cork is shockingly only half occupied because the beds cannot be opened as there is difficulty getting and retaining consultants. If one divides up the figures I read out into the regions, so much money is being presented on mental health but it is all for drugs, treatments and so on. As I said, so little of it is to help people, on aftercare or on psychologists and various therapists to talk to those affected. There is no aftercare. Prevention is better than cure. The money is being mismanaged at an alarming rate. It is a shame for the Minister of State to read out such a report because it is not factual, not right and is insulting to the people who are suffering and our loved ones we have lost.

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