Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to address matters concerning the health service and the 7,000 children and adolescents who have been waiting for psychiatric services for a year, if not longer. This is a very serious issue.

Another issue I wish to raise is that of people coming to my clinics who are not being accepted into a doctor's practice. I have come across this issue recently. I know that if one has three refusals from a doctor's surgery, one can write to the health board and it will assign a surgery, but this is becoming a serious issue. Along with this, I read recently in The Sunday Business Postan investigation revealing "a staggering rise in the use of sleeping tablets, painkillers [...] and antidepressants". It referred to "a silent epidemic". The investigation revealed a 1,000% increase in the use of certain addictive painkillers over the past ten years with prescription drugs. It is said this is being called the new Valium, with use having soared from 54,000 to 652,000 in the past few years. I have massive concerns about this.

Next Friday, I believe, will see the launch of the new 2040 national planning framework. With Senator Grace O'Sullivan we are fighting hard to get 24-hour cardiac services in Waterford, yet our health services are suffering. Every day we listen to the great job the Government is doing but we now have children waiting years for psychiatric assessment, people trying to get into doctors' practices and people seeking quality of life but instead taking sleeping tablets. What is the Government doing that it is not looking after the health of Irish citizens? I call on the Minister to come before the House to address this.