Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I heard the Minister of State speak about this in the media and earlier in the House. Frankly, she sounds more like an observer than somebody who has responsibility for it. We are facing a huge crisis in child and adolescent mental health. It is in the news every day. People are constantly ringing radio programmes, such as Joe Duffy's radio programme, about the crisis being faced.

Linn Dara serves people from outside the direct community. As has been said, this is like Groundhog Day. Exactly this time five years ago, there were exactly the same number of beds and exactly the same period of closure. It is not acceptable. It is as if the Government is shutting its eyes to the crisis we have generally in our health service but in particular in maintaining and retaining staff. We bleed staff but we ask ourselves why we bleed them. When is the Minister of State going to sit down with those at the coalface, the nurses themselves and their representatives in the Psychiatric Nurses Association, to get some resolutions to this issue?

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