Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I know Leah and her family very well. The family in Arigna has been devastated. Five years ago she lost her father to suicide and two months ago she lost her brother. They told me about the situation of going to the mental health services. Many others have similar experiences, where they go with suicidal tendencies and they are told, "Sit there for a couple of hours and we will talk to you", and then they are told, "Now you can go home and you will get an appointment." It could be a week or it could be a month before that appointment comes. I have a case of a young mother whose child, a teenager, has suicidal tendencies and who is told the same, "Go home and you'll get an appointment." This situation has really become a travesty for families, particularly in the north west but I am sure in every part of the country. We have raised it here on numerous occasions and there does not seem to be anybody listening. When nobody is listening, lives are being lost. These losses are very tragic and it is having a devastating effect on communities throughout the country. It really needs to be dealt with urgently.

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