Mary Butler

It is not accepted.

I thank the Deputy for her question. This year, €160 million has been allocated to the 81 child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, teams across the country. That includes five eating disorder teams for young people. An additional €3 million has been allocated for a waiting list initiative. Yesterday, I visited two CAMHS teams, one in Ashbourne, County Meath, and the other in Swords, Cou…

We will continue to invest in mental health services.

No.

No.

No.

I thank the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, for highlighting the ongoing challenges we are addressing in paediatric healthcare services in our country. Like everyone in government, I am deeply concerned by the issues that have come to light regarding Children's Health Ireland and the use of unapproved medical devices in spinal surgeries at Temple Street university hospital. This incident has un…

Oversight.

I move: Tuesday’s business shall be Second Stage of the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 (to adjourn after 2 hours). Tuesday's private members' business shall be Second Stage of the Water Services (Repeal of Water Charges) Bill 2025, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Statements on Tariffs (not to exceed 3 hrs and 32 mins) - Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendme…

With regard to committees, the Dáil reform committee, as agreed, will begin the process of establishing committees tomorrow evening, as Deputies are aware. The Government submitted the list of committees to the Dáil reform committee today and we are happy to discuss this at the meeting of the Dáil reform committee tomorrow evening. We will select the committees on Thursday morning, as was agreed w…

I again wish to express our deepest condolences to the Deputy on the death of Mary, his mother-in-law, and to the Fehilly and Crowe families. I also want to acknowledge the spirit in which he has raised these issues because at no stage did he criticise the men and women of the National Ambulance Service or our other first responders. Rather, he asked real questions, which he hopes will be addresse…

As well as front-line urgent and emergency care, the NAS is also developing and expanding a range of clinically appropriate alternative care pathways to improve patient flow and reduce pressure on busy hospital emergency departments. The medical assessment unit, MAU, pathway for 999 patients introduced in Ennis Hospital treats patients referred by GPs, out-of-hours services, including Shannondoc, …

I thank Deputy Ó Murchú very much for raising this important issue to specifically discuss the care of children with autism who also have mental health issues. In addition, I acknowledge the Deputy's constant advocacy in this area. We have had many exchanges and discussions on trying to provide services. I acknowledge the case of the young person he mentions, whom he also mentioned last week in th…

I am determined to make further progress through the national office for child and youth mental health in the HSE, which as developed a new youth mental health action plan, published in February. This three-year plan for comprehensive reform across all youth mental health services sets out a roadmap to ensure all children and families have the pathway we have discussed. The new action plan aims to…

I move: Tuesday’s business shall be: - Motion re Presentation and Circulation of Revised Estimates for Public Services 2025 [Votes 24, 41 and 46] (any division demanded shall be taken immediately) - Motion re Confidence in the Ceann Comhairle (any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Motions for Revised Estimates for Public Services 2025 [Votes 24, 41 and 46] (to be brought to a conclus…

I note the dissent as set down by the various Deputies. They also dissented at the Business Committee last Thursday. We will do our best to find some speaking time. I will engage with the Opposition Whips to find speaking time regarding tariffs. We had speaking time on that two weeks ago. I said last Thursday that, as soon as 2 April had passed, we will know exactly where we are and that we will f…

For anybody who was not present at the Business Committee last Thursday, what I said was that we had statements on tariffs two weeks ago and that we were all waiting with trepidation as to what would happen on 2 April and that then we would discuss speaking time in the very near future about what we will all find out tomorrow.

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important mental health Bill, which, as he knows, is a priority of the Government. The restoration of the Bill to the Order Paper was one of the first actions undertaken by this Government. I was delighted to reinstate it. I met the Attorney General only last week on this. We are just trying to finalise the last of the amendments, which are quite technica…

No.

I move: That, notwithstanding Standing Order 222 of the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to Public Business, the following Revised Estimates for Public Services for the year ending 31st December, 2025, be presented to the Dáil and circulated to members on 1st April, 2025, being a date later than that prescribed for the presentation of Estimates: Vote 24 — Justice (Revised Estimate). Vot…

I welcome the opportunity to express my confidence in the Ceann Comhairle. Fairness as a politician is essential. What we see today is not fairness. There is no fairness to what the Office of the Ceann Comhairle represents and no fairness to the Ceann Comhairle, only verbal abuse, bullying and permanent outrage. What we witnessed last week would not be tolerated in any workforce or workplace. The …

The Deputies opposite believe they have a veto. Let me say there is no such veto. We all fought an election and the people had their say. We came together on this side of the House to form a Government and those opposite tried to disrupt the process and lost. We put forward modest changes to Standing Orders to ensure everyone's mandate in the Dáil would be respected.

They objected to that. We put it to a vote and they lost. Sinn Féin has a chequered view of the ballot box and it really only plays second fiddle to its agenda. Its stated objective is to undermine the Dáil and Government and create mayhem. We know of its lack of loyalty to the institutions of the State.

The Government is about respecting the rights of Deputies democratically elected to this Hous - all of them. We take our direction from the people, the people who voted for us last November urging us to form a Government and run the country. It is from the people that we take our orders, not from Belfast or anywhere else.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important question about mental health, especially men's mental health. He is absolutely right. Unfortunately, in 2022 we had 410 deaths by suicide and 80% of them were men. We have been looking at this very closely. We encourage people like the Headsup programme. We also encourage men to attend men's sheds and to be able to speak openly about their mental healt…