Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin very much for bringing this motion with regard to mental health surge capacity requirements before the Dáil. It is very important. There is going to be a look back with regard to 1,500 children who were under the care of CAMHS in Kerry. I have a number of questions for the HSE. When did it become aware of the overmedication of children receiving care from CAMHS? How long did it take to notify the parents of these children? How long will the look back take and what measures will be put in place to make sure a situation like this never arises again?

I will also raise the situation in respect of the St. Mary of the Angels home in Beaufort in County Kerry because it has to do with different types of both mental and physical health. I have been a lifelong supporter of the service, first of all as a representative of the Killorglin electoral area for many years when I worked daily with the parents from around Kerry and beyond who have availed of the excellent service provided in St. Mary of the Angels. To be very clear, St. Mary of the Angels is a centre of excellence when it comes to taking care of people's mental, intellectual and physical problems and difficulties. There are parents and families who dearly appreciate the care they have been getting there. There is a worry in County Kerry that the centre is going to be closed down by stealth. This worry arises from the fact that new admissions to the centre are not being allowed. It is a beautiful facility. I know every single solitary one of the staff members who work there and their families. It is a vocation for them, and was a vocation for those before them, to take care of the residents of that home.

This Government has a policy of not allowing congregated settings and that one shoe fits all sizes. It believes it is good for people to be taken out of this centre of excellence and to be put out into the community, but that is not necessarily so. It can actually be bad for them. I am pleading on my knees for the Government not to allow St. Mary of the Angels to be closed down by stealth. It must be kept open. It is the right thing to do.

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