Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is nothing personal in what I am going to say but the hypocrisy on display here tonight is quite rank. In Clonmel, we have an organisation called Clonmel Suicide Awareness Workers, C-SAW, with which Joe Leahy, Elma Walsh and many others volunteer. We also have a River Suir rescue team and there are many other voluntary groups across the country. I thank my own staff in the office for dealing with problems every day that neither they nor I have the skills to deal with. I know a lady in Clonmel, Bernadette Hughes, whose son is now in prison. She fell through the cracks and was knocked back and dismissed at every turn. Her son, with whom my late brother, a paediatrician, dealt as a child, is now languishing in prison. The services are scandalous. They are not there.

Deputy O'Donoghue is right; the money is going towards the top. It is spent on big agencies, brass plates, CEOs and chief executives. Compassion is not there to be seen. We are here talking about youth mental health tonight while we are forcing children in schools to wear masks. Any child who does not wear one is intimidated, bullied and destroyed. School boards of management and principals are ordered to enforce this. It is causing intimidation and mental health problems. That is the hypocrisy here. I asked the Taoiseach today to remove this requirement because masks are not proven to be safe. What will be the legacy of this victimisation of children? We have enough problems with sexual violence and bullying and intimidation online. This is the greatest scandal that has ever beset us. We are all talking about the post-pandemic situation. The pandemic has been a total disaster as regards the intimidation of children, forcing them to do things and socially isolating them. I am talking about little boys of eight years. My own grandchild was in school one day and was victimised because someone said her mother was not vaccinated or something. It is a scandal perpetrated by Paul Reid, Tony Holohan, the Government and everybody else. It is a scandal and we then have the cheek to talk about these problems. The legacy of this will be unimaginable. We have no services either. We have plenty of CEOs and money going the wrong way but we have no compassion.

See this speech in context