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

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I understand what he has said and that we need to recruit more psychiatrists and nurses and that would be welcome, However, the department of psychiatry in St. Luke's Hospital came to public attention last week on foot of a case, the first of its kind, brought by the Mental Health Commission against the HSE under the Mental Health Act. This is a massive issue. Many people have telephoned my constituency office about it. It is unacceptable. The Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the other Ministers of State in the Department need to step in to address this issue. What happened in this case cannot be allowed to happen again. These people were neglected. This was the first case of it kind. We need to make sure what happened in this in unit does not happen in any other psychiatric unit. The Minister of State's reply did not fully answer the issue I raised. I ask him to bring this issue to the attention of the Department and the Minister and to ensure it is addressed. This is very serious. I will raise this issue again in the next few days to get more clarification on it and a better answer, but I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House to respond to it today.