Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate and acknowledge the Minister of State's commitment to improving mental health services in Tipperary and all of us recognise that. The problem is whether she has a budget to deliver. I have no doubt the Minister of State is well meaning, but I remind her that Tipperary is a large county with a population of 160,000 people.

The distance from Lorrha at the northern end of the county to Carrick-on-Suir is 130 km. The mental health strategy and the policy enforced on Tipperary by the then Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch, deprived our patients of access to vital services. The people of the county who have mental health issues are at a disadvantage. The county is left without a single acute mental health bed. There are no proper respite mental health beds. Access to crucial services is split between Ennis and Kilkenny. The system has not worked for Tipperary. It is a failed policy. The neglect of our mental health patients is indefensible. The extent of the deficit in services is bordering on irresponsible. The Minister of State needs a budget to correct it.

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