Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last week's recommendation from the Mental Health Commission to drastically reduce beds in Bantry General Hospital's mental health unit from 18 to 11 is a huge retrograde step for mental health services in west Cork. The hospital covers a population of 180,000 from Castletownbere to Kinsale, as well as parts of Kerry. Following its inspection in 2019, the Mental Health Commission found the unit in Bantry to be 88% compliant and recommended investment be made. It was the same in 2021 when the unit was again found to be 88% compliant but previous recommendations for improvements had not been implemented as no finances were spent on the unit. What is extraordinary is the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Butler, and the Taoiseach were both in Bantry Hospital recently and to the best of my knowledge both walked past the mental health unit and never went in.

We only have a matter of hours to set the wheels in motion to save the seven beds in the mental health unit in Bantry as the HSE can appeal this restriction by the Mental Health Commission by Monday, thus giving time to get immediate funding in place to rectify the shocking wrong being done here. Will the Tánaiste step in here and contact the HSE immediately to appeal this decision on bed closures in Bantry?

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