Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)

Iveragh in south Kerry is remote to many of the people who live elsewhere on this island. It is a main attraction for many. For many of those living there, its remoteness is neither an attraction nor an advantage when it comes to health services, be they physical or mental. A proposal to move mental health services from Caherciveen Community Hospital to Killorglin would be a detrimental move for everybody resident from Castlecove to Portmagee, Valentia to Dromid and Kells to Ballinskelligs. The service includes 100 users and their families. Any move by the Health Service Executive would make this crucial service inaccessible to many of them. Space for the ambulance station, which is mooted for the move, is a high priority for the south Kerry area but surely not at the expense of our indispensable mental health service. This would add 88 km for all users of the service, unnecessarily doubling a hazardous road journey for vulnerable people, most without their own transport. I plead with the Tánaiste to intervene.

See this speech in context