John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

At lunchtime today, the staff at St. Stephen's hospital in Glanmire, which is part of north Cork mental health services, will be staging a one hour protest at the inability or unwillingness of the HSE to fill 15 vacant posts. These posts are over and above the recent announcement of new posts, at a time when services nationally are struggling due to the lack of resources and staff, and are dependent on the use of overtime and agency nurses to fill shifts regularly. It is increasingly difficult to remain uncritical of the manner in which mental health services in this country are run. This entire issue is symptomatic of a lack of leadership at administrative and political levels. I have on several occasions asked the Leader to facilitate a wide ranging debate on mental health policy and I ask again whether he can propose a date on which we can discuss this important issue.