SINN Féin TD for Kerry Pa Daly is calling for a multi-agency mental health crisis de-escalation team, piloted in Limerick, to also be created Kerry.

The Tralee native has expressed concerned at the lack of 24-hour emergency access to mental health supports in the county.

“Only 6% of the overall health budget is allocated to mental health which is unacceptable,” said Deputy Daly.

“Sinn Féin brought forward a motion earlier this year which passed unopposed in Dáil Éireann, and 24/7 access to mental health supports was a core component of the motion.

Continued below…

“Limerick has agreed to pilot a multi-agency mental health crisis de-escalation team.  Unfortunately this pilot is not scheduled to start until 2022. This multi-agency team will involve mental health professionals and specially trained members of an Garda Síochána.

“The idea of the pilot is that if there is a person experiencing a mental health issue in the community, then a specially trained team will meet the person, triage them, treat them and refer or bring them to the appropriate service.

“I am calling for a similar pilot to run in Kerry, as the county is severely lacking in mental health supports, in particular 24/7 crisis supports.

“I am hearing from far too many people who are in crisis and cannot find supports in their home county or sometimes in the country at all, and they must travel overseas for care. The appropriate mental health supports must be available within the community,” concluded Deputy Daly.