Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage
Dail Éireann — 2025-06-11
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Conor D. McGuinness (SF), Waterford

I support Deputy Clarke. This is an issue that mental health professionals and gardaí are bringing to us regularly. I know last year, in response to a parliamentary question, as the Minister of State knows, there was only one authorised officer between the city and county in Waterford. I have a number of questions submitted but I do not know if that situation has improved. I hope to God it has, but that will remain to be seen. It proves the point that the debate we have been having over the past 40 minutes or so is about looking after people when they are at their lowest ebb, when they are in crisis and when there is the greatest need and the greatest risk of harm. When we do not have the personnel in place to help that process, we all, unfortunately, see the outworkings of that in our respective constituencies. I add to what Deputy Clarke has said. Whatever the proposals will be, we need to see action on that and an uptake in authorised officers across the State.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-06-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:00:57+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-06-11