Séamus Healy (Tipperary, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the interest and involvement of the Minister of State in this issue since his appointment. As he said, he met representatives of the Save Our Acute Hospital Services Committee and Oireachtas Members on two occasions in Leinster House. He has visited the services in Clonmel and met all the stakeholders involved, including mental health service management in the south east. There is a serious and growing concern about the state of mental health services in the county, specifically that they are substandard and that there are no inpatient beds. A new umbrella organisation, Tipperary's Fight for Mental Health Services, has been involved recently in public meetings and a public march on this issue. That organisation is supported by all the local Oireachtas Members and a large number of councillors as well. The Save Our Acute Hospital Services Committee has been engaging with mental health service management in the south east. At our most recent meeting, the management accepted that there was a shortage of beds in the south east and that Tipperary had a strong case for additional beds. They also indicated it would be helpful if the Minister of State was in a position to meet the negotiating team. Will he do that?

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