John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I join with other Senators who have requested that the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, comes to the House to discuss the issue of youth psychological services. I agree with Senator Maurice Hayes on the point he made about waiting times and waiting lists. County Kilkenny was highlighted as being the worst in terms of waiting times, with a waiting time of more than four and a half years. The Minister of State made his astonishing comments that consultants were somehow beefing up waiting lists to make themselves more powerful. It is my understanding that the reason for the four and a half years' waiting time in Kilkenny is that the position of consultant psychologist was vacant for more than a year. This was clearly a failure on the part of the HSE and by the Minister of State's Department. I ask that the House has a debate on this subject as soon as possible.

I wish to join other Senators in asking for a debate on the status of the Hanly report and local hospitals, a number of which have been referred to by other speakers. I wish to mention my own local hospital, St. Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny——