Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I do need more time because I have to speak about the Limerick community access support team, CAST. I am conscious that two of the Senators sitting in front of me are from Limerick. Limerick CAST is a pilot project. It is a partnership between An Garda Síochána and the HSE. I was thrilled to launch it last year. The CAST pilot became operational in January 2025 and is already having a significant impact. To date, the project has had 196 interactions involving 35 diversions from an emergency department. This means those people in distress did not attend the busy environment. Of the interactions with the CAST team, 78% were deemed to have had a major impact on a person's life. I look forward to further talks on CAST because it is the way forward as is mainstreaming crisis resolution teams and the crisis cafes, and making sure there are supports during the vital times out of hours when somebody is very ill, perhaps with psychosis or a dual diagnosis. Gardaí turn up on their own without the support of mental health services. We have learned that if they come together it can be very effective.

I have taken on board all of the comments on Wexford and various organisations requiring funding. I will come back to the Senators on some of the issues they have raised. I thank the Senators because any day we can come into the Seanad to discuss mental health is a good day. The most important thing we can all say today to everyone we meet is "hello, how are you?" and then listen to the answer. The interaction of saying "hello, how are you today?" might make all the difference to a person who is struggling.