Health Services
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Maria McCormack (SF), Labour Panel

I appreciate the Minister of State taking this on behalf of the Minister with responsibility for mental health but this is not accurate. Laois is classed as one of the services that is technically operational, but it does not have a base. It talks here about St. Fintan's campus in Portlaoise. They can use that facility where they can go into a different room every time they are there, but they also have to go to Mountmellick. The staff in this ADHD clinic are telling me they do not have a base and it is not fit for purpose.
The biggest problem since the service opened in 2024 is that referrals were paused very soon after and have been paused now for a very long period. We cannot say this service is operational. Just because we see it on paper does not mean it is happening; it is not. Right now, you can get a referral to this service and you just sit there. Nothing happens because this service is not operational, it cannot take in new patients and it does not have a base to see the patients.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-18