Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Maxine Maguire is a name I have mentioned in this Chamber previously. Maxine was a young girl whom I had the privilege of teaching in primary school.

She was a beautiful young person who died by her own hand two and a half years ago. Today, her parents, Kathy and Robbie, and a number of friends, family and supporters, will come to the gates of Leinster House to protest about inadequacies in the mental health service. Maxine was somebody who looked for help and, initially, she received it, but there were huge gaps within the system that absolutely failed her. We know this because of the work that Maxine's mother, Kathy, has undertaken in the past two and a half years in terms of finding out the answers, and the HSE has admitted the shortcomings that were there.

The Taoiseach spoke earlier about funding for mental health services. It is not just about funding. It is about outcomes protocols and procedures, and about helping those who need it. Maxine mattered. Her life mattered and her death mattered also. I am asking the Taoiseach what can be done to make sure the proper protocols and procedures are put in place to make sure that lives like Maxine's will not be lost again.

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