Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To be honest, I am shocked and flabbergasted by the comments of the Minister of State. Keltoi worked with people in addiction or with serious and complex mental health issues. He has come in here two years after its closure to tell us it will remain closed. That is not good enough. These are people who have serious issues. Is the Department of Health or the HSE using Covid-19 as a way of closing down Keltoi? If that is what is being done, it is not acceptable and Sinn Féin will certainly oppose it. We should be seeking to provide more services such as Keltoi.

To give the Minister of State a flavour of the situation, the nephew of a good friend of mine named Vincent died by suicide today. He is the sixth person to die by suicide in my community in the past four weeks. He and his family had certain issues. He had two brothers who died in a similar way. There are families that need support. There are families, individuals and communities that are being traumatised. We need more facilities such as Keltoi but the answer of the Minister of State is to close the only such facility we have.

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