Mary Henry (Independent)

Today is World Population Day and I take this opportunity to thank the Government for its continued support for the international agencies which are trying to reduce maternal and infant mortality. At the same time, this week is International Mental Health Week and we have little to congratulate ourselves for on this issue. I am sure Senators have seen reports in newspapers where it was stated that 14 beds in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, which were set aside for people with mental illness, particularly homeless people with mental illness, have now been cancelled due to lack of funds and space in the hospital. In addition, the job of a psychiatrist who was appointed to give psychiatric care to homeless people in north Dublin has been subsumed because he stated that he needed some backup staff, such as psychiatric social workers and psychiatric nurses. This is an extremely serious and I ask the Leader to ask the Minister for Health and Children to come to the House for a discussion on mental health and the homeless, particularly in Dublin.