I certainly will drive it on, and it is an area that has been identified as needing youth mental health supports. However, all areas of the county need youth mental health supports. Some 2% of young people will need the support of CAMHS but 98% of young people - about a third of them - will need counselling and low-level supports so they can deal with anxiety, depression and the challenges they have with body image and social media challenges. All of that is huge. There are a lot of parents in the Dáil who will und…

It is not.

No.

No.

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders and until further notice in the 34th Dáil, parties, groups and non-party/group members may appoint members to the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight in accordance with paragraph (4) of Standing Order 129, and the Ceann Comhairle shall announce the names of the members so appointed for the information of the Dáil on the first sitting day of the Dáil following their appointment.

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of a Carbon Budget Programme (to be taken without debate) - Motion re Presentation and Circulation of Revised and Further Revised Estimates 2025 (any division demanded shall be taken immediately) - Statements on Assessment of Need (not to exceed 3 hrs and 32 mins) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Assessment of Needs, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Motio…

On the questions that dealt specifically with the Order of Business for this week, I inform Deputy Collins that I have been in talks regarding statements on flood relief.

I will update him at the Business Committee meeting on Thursday. On legislation, next week we will have Second Stage of the Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. We will also have Order for Report, Report and Final Stages of the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024. I remind all Deputies that any Opposition Deputy is entitled to bring forward legislation if they so wish.

It is the Ceann Comhairle who puts the question to me, not Deputy McDonald.

The Minister for housing was in the House twice last week answering questions about housing. If anybody looks at the agenda, they can see that he has been in the House almost every week since the Dáil formed 16 weeks ago.

The programme for Government is open and transparent.

It is not opposed. I congratulate Deputy Farrelly on bringing his first piece of legislation to the House.

I am pleased to be here in the Seanad to discuss the very important topic of mental health and suicide prevention. This month is mental health awareness month, and today is “Hello, how are you?” day, when we mark the annual campaign led by Mental Health Ireland which encourages meaningful conversations and reminds us of the power of this simple question. The message of the campaign is that talking about mental health can be difficult but starting that conversation does not have to be. This is my first time speaking…

There were five last year, down from 18 six years ago.

A lot of issues were raised today and many comprehensive and supportive comments have been made. I have to take offence at a few and I will go through them one at a time. It is great we are all here today discussing mental health. That is the most important thing. Every time we speak about mental health, we lessen the stigma. I cannot respond to any individual cases. I will not respond to individual organisations. What I will say is that when organisations are seeking funding from the mental health budget, certain …

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 t…

No.

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Withdrawal of Bills (to be taken without debate) - Motion re Appointment of Cathaoirleach of Working Group of Committee Cathaoirligh (to be taken without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Statements on Power of Higher Education, Research and Skills as an Economic Enabler in a Changing World (not to exceed 2 hrs 25 mins) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Housing and Critical Infrastructure, selected by Sinn Féin. Wedne…

I thank all the Deputies for their suggestion. I am happy to engage with the Opposition and we can discuss the motion in advance of the business meeting on Thursday morning and look at speaking times for next week.

I move: That, pursuant to Standing Order 130(9), Deputy Seán Fleming be appointed as the Cathaoirleach of the Working Group of Committee Cathaoirligh.