Mattie McGrath: Demands Mental Health Beds and Services in Tipperary
Mattie McGrath criticised the state of mental health services in Tipperary, saying there is a deficit of beds, staff and community supports worsened since the onset of COVID. He urged the minister and the HSE to deliver beds, staffing and a proper cohort of community services for South Tipperary.
Immediate demands
McGrath told the House that Tipperary needs urgent delivery of mental health beds and staff. He said Vision for Change removed the acute day hospital and the promised Rolls-Royce Community Service has not materialised.
Access and local impact
He described people cocooned during COVID who cannot access medical centres and the huge pressure this creates. He said patients are travelling long distances to other counties such as Kilkenny, incurring transport costs and delays, and often end up in an overcrowded ANE.
Service changes and broken promises
The deputy recalled that the previous minister acknowledged a deficit of around 15 beds in Tipperary. He argued the HSE appears to have moved away from that position and that past reports on bed placements have been inconsistent.
Next steps and oversight
McGrath said he will keep up the pressure on the minister to ensure beds are delivered along with staff and dedicated community interventions. He called for proper community services so people in acute distress do not have to be treated in crowded wards.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Thanks for allowing me in, because we missed our start, I'm not good, this is a very, very important issue, as other speakers have said, it was hugely important and hugely strained ever before COVID arrived on our shores, but since the onset of COVID, it's just gigantic, enormous, we have no way of assessing how bad it is, because people are cocooned, they're not able to access, you know, even medical centres, and there's a huge pressure on them, so we are particularly challenged in Tipperary as well, and the Minister would know that, I thank you for coming to visit in Tipperary, but we have a deficit of mental health beds in Tipperary, Vision for Change destroyed our services, it took away our acute day hospital, and we were promised the Rolls-Royce Community Service, but sadly, that hasn't materialised, and it's the same up and down the country, and it's the same from a lot of services, but mental health services are acutely affected, and we have to travel to, in our tip, we have to travel to Innes, or in South Tip, which is huge, we have the travel ticket Kenny, they don't want us in Kilkenny, not personally, with Manchester Games, or anything else, but they're full with the eastern, south eastern region themselves, and they have the space, Minister visited there as well, I believe, she told us at a meeting that there was a lot of capacity in Kilkenny, but we have, that's not our experience, in honesty, people cannot access it, and it's costing a fortune for transport services, and the delayed time of consultants driving to Kilkenny is fast again. Previous Minister Jim Daly promised us, you know, acknowledge both in the House and at meetings with the HSE and the Department of Health, that we were at a deficit of 15 beds in Tipperary, and we're working close at that a.m., we're devastated now, to hear this Minister, Minister Butler, and I wish her well, and we're good friends with her, neighbouring constituency, we're working on issues together, we're devastated, to think now that we won't have those beds, or that the HSE moved away from that position. I know she was successful, and the beds have been put into water for recently, badly needed, and they're badly needed there, we saw different reports from that in the past, but we need beds in Tipperary, full stop, we need interventions, that people, when they have acute attacks, they have to go into the ANE, an overcrowded ANE, and it's just not suitable, and the same, any part of the country, needs dedicated areas for people to go in when they feel unwell, not into a crowded ward, something like that, so, Minister, I'm going to keep the pressure on, that beds will have to be delivered, and staff, not only the beds, but the staff, and a cohort of proper community services, have to be delivered to Tipperary, South Tipperary. Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
