Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My thoughts are with the family in Dundalk who are burying a man today. He was a husband, father and brother who was hugely involved in the community. On Sunday, we heard the sad news of his suicide. This is not the first time I have dealt with this issue. I spoke with the family and they said that the difficult part was that this man presented himself to the mental services in Crosslanes, Drogheda, on the Wednesday before last and sought help. He was not admitted. I accept that hospitalisation and residential care are not always the most suitable options and I am not a medical expert. However, I am told that the home care team made a call the next day and stated that it would be a few weeks before it could deal with him, due to Covid-19 and, I must assume, a lack of resources. I am not looking to vilify services but I call on the Government to assess protocols and resources to ensure there is no wrong door when someone presents for mental health help and that the necessary care and connections are put in place. We need a full audit of mental health services. We also need to deal with the chronic underfunding and a system that is failing our people.

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