Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this case. I am aware of the case to which she alludes but I cannot discuss it on the floor of the Dáil. It was brought to my attention by Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan a couple of weeks ago and we have been working on it. The Government does remain firmly committed to enhancing specialist eating disorder services, including improved access and shorter waiting lists. A total of €6.85 million has been allocated, and a further €1.15 million again this year. The current situation is that by the end of this year, funding will have been provided for nine teams in total. Three teams are currently operational. Three other teams are funded and are at an advanced stage of recruitment, and funding is to issue this year for a further three teams. What I am trying to achieve is that we will have one team in each community healthcare organisation, CHO. It is important that we have a situation where, regardless of where one lives, one has access to an eating disorder team.

It has been stated constantly that there are only three eating-disorder beds in the country. All approved centres are available for eating disorder cases, and we have 56 approved centres in the country. A person can avail of inpatient supports at any of the 56 centres. I will continue to work on the particular case.

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