Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Last week, we had the head of the Prison Service in before the public accounts committee and were told a very large number of inmates had autism, personality disorders and mental health issues, but they said the one thing about prison is they can access all the services in one place for the first time. It now costs €84,000 a year to keep a prisoner in prison. I am comparing that with what is happening with the children's disability network teams. I have met the most extreme cases where the Garda has had to be called multiple times and where parents are so anxious to make sure their child does not end up in prison. These are the most dedicated of parents. They are being told it will take a year before they can even be seen. The children's disability network teams are a brass plate, or the one in my area certainly is. This should not be about funding. What is the Government going to do about bringing down those waiting times?

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