David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As I am sure the Leader is aware, a group of consultant psychiatrists in the Carlow, Kilkenny and south Tipperary mental health services have withdrawn confidence in the clinical management of the service which they claim is unsafe. In a letter which was put in the public domain by RTE's "This Week" programme, nine doctors wrote to the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to express their serious concerns about local services in light of nine fatalities. In the letter dated June 2013, the doctors repeatedly questioned the safety of governance in the service and stated that they felt devalued and ignored in their attempts to raise their concerns in the Health Service Executive.

We have had similar problems in Waterford where there is still no consultant in the dermatology area leading to major problems. That has been raised by Senator Crown several times. The south east has very high levels of cancer, as we know, and yet we do not have proper dermatology services, again because of staffing problems and pressures within the hospital.

On this issue, their concerns focus on nine fatalities in the 14 months from August 2011 to January 2013. These include three suicides of inpatients by the same means, four suicides in home-based settings and a further suicide in a crisis house. This was a cry for help from nine doctors who have written to the HSE management and raised it directly with the Minister of State, and obviously their concerns have not been addressed. It is a very serious issue. We have debated the issue of suicide with the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, several times in this House.

Given the seriousness of this situation, I ask the Leader to arrange a further debate so that we can discuss with her the concerns of not just the psychiatrists in the Carlow-Kilkenny-south Tipperary area, but the many psychiatrists across the State who are very concerned about mental health services in the State. I request a debate on the issue as soon as possible.