Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last year, there were 7,000 call-outs of gardaí to deal with mental health crises around the State.

In effect, gardaí are managing mental health patients outside office hours. That is 340 per Garda division or almost one per day. The Mental Health Commission recently referred to a 2009 report recommending 24-7 social work services and enhanced training for Garda members. Will the Taoiseach implement the report and improve services, especially in the larger towns on a 24-7 basis, and expand the pilot project in Limerick where community access support teams were in place to deal with this crisis?

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