Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Deputy's bona fides in this area. I have had many conversations with him on the subject of mental health. I have always found him to be very responsive and responsible in his approach. He does not take a narrow view but, rather, seeks to serve the greater good.

I share some of his frustrations regarding the national recruitment service and trying to see how it works. I recently invited the executive clinical directors in the area of mental health from across the country, including the Deputy's CHO area, to a meeting. I wrote to them afterwards and asked them to give me examples of the difficulties they were having with recruitment and their experiences of the current recruitment process within the HSE. I am going through their responses, which I received in the past week or ten days. I have sought a meeting with the national recruitment service to better understand its work. We often pass on blame in a kind of circular way, but one must follow the chain each way. I want to hear the side of the national recruitment service. I am aware of the frustrations being expressed, as is the Deputy, particularly in the area of mental health, and I am following the chain to see if I can address some of the blockages, difficulties and challenges in the area of recruitment.

The Deputy asked a specific question about the pilot. I thank him for embracing it. We must embrace change. It is easy to be sceptical and knock everything but if we do what we always did, we will get the response we have always got and that is not good enough. I recently convened a meeting in the national convention centre and explained to the attendees from across the country the concept of online psychiatry. The clinical staff believe in it and accept that it is the way forward and will complement the existing mental healthcare provision. They are up for the challenge. The HSE is currently rolling out several pilot schemes around the country in the area of delivering mental healthcare online, including psychology and psychiatry. That is how we will address the gaps in the system. Rather than psychiatrists spending three hours travelling to see a patient, they will be able to spend that time online treating multiple patients.

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