Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-26
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I sincerely thank Deputy Mythen for raising this very important issue. As he rightly says, I was in Wexford very recently and I took the opportunity to visit the hospital. I met with the hospital manager, Linda O'Leary, and the team there who do very good work. I was very conscious in all of my engagements in Wexford that there is an acute issue with mental health services in the county. I have had very good discussions with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in relation to this. I welcome the fact that the HSE's capital plan in recent days tries to move this forward, with the commitment to a ten specialist bed unit in Wexford. I will ask the Minister of State to come back to the Deputy directly on timelines as to how quickly we can advance it.
In the limited time available to me, I am also aware there are other measures in the here and now that I think need to be advanced, including the provision of 24-7 ED consultant presence in terms of mental health expertise within the ED in Wexford, which I believe is also lacking. I will talk to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and ask her to come back to the Deputy on timelines.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-26