Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for taking this motion today. While I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, I am very disappointed that the Minister of State with responsibility for this sector, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is not here today. It would nearly encourage me to postpone the issue completely. As a former Minister of State, I took many Adjournment motions in the Dáil and Seanad and I appreciate that people can be out of the country. I hope we will get a vehicle to raise this vital matter again.

The matter is the future of services for people in Roscommon who are suffering psychiatric problems. The Rosalie unit in Castlerea which accommodates people with psychiatry of older life issues is threatened and the future of the high support hostel at Knockroe, Castlerea is unclear. Staffing levels at the acute psychiatric unit remain a concern for staff. The issue has been raised by Councillor Paschal Fitzmaurice in Castlerea and Councillor Orla Leyden. Both have campaigned very strongly on the issue and have made very coherent arguments.

Councillor Fitzmaurice has criticised particularly the HSE's plans to close the unit in Castlerea and many community mental health facilities in Counties Roscommon and Galway. The plans by the Government and the HSE to evict these voiceless and vulnerable people from the Rosalie unit are a disgrace. With many people voicing opposition to this closure including nurses and doctors the Government must listen to the people of the county. I agree totally with Councillor Fitzmaurice in that regard. He has submitted very detailed documentation outlining what is happening on the ground in Roscommon.

Councillor Orla Leyden has also issued a statement in this regard and has attended meetings with the programme directors in Roscommon, but has not got any satisfactory response. She said that over the last year, bit-by-bit psychiatric services in the area are being pulled apart. The Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for primary care, social care, disabilities and older people, and mental health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, needs to explain why the Government is continuing to tear apart psychiatric services in County Roscommon where day-care services are being dismantled and are under threat.

The Rosalie unit in Castlerea which accommodates people with psychiatry of older life issues is threatened and the future of the high support hostel at Knockroe, Castlerea is unclear. Staffing levels at the acute psychiatric unit remain a concern for staff. That unit was opened when the Government closed the large psychiatric unit in Castlerea, which is now a prison. The service was provided in a hotel that was bought at the time. It has served very effectively since and many extensions have been added on.

The Roscommon Peoplerecently carried a report about one of the Minister of State's colleagues. It stated:

Senator John Kelly has threatened to quit the Labour Party over the crisis in mental health services in County Roscommon.

The Ballaghaderreen man's shock declaration follows a "stormy" meeting he had with Junior Health Minister Kathleen Lynch, his party colleague, last Thursday, over his concerns about local psychiatric services.

Senator Kelly did not resign when the accident and emergency unit in Roscommon closed, which the former Tánaiste, Deputy Gilmore, had pledged to retain. I would prefer Senator Kelly to continue on and do something about the issue within the Labour Party instead of taking the easy option of opting out.