The imminent closure of 11 child and adolescent mental health service beds at Linn Dara brings acute mental health provision for those under 18 years to 52 beds, which is just over half of what A Vision for Change recommended over ten years ago. Incidentally, Fianna Fáil abstained on a Sinn Féin motion to provide 24-7 mental health services.

On Friday, along with my colleague, an Teachta Munster, I visited the department of psychiatry acute inpatient unit in Drogheda. This is a world-class, state-of-the-art facility. I commend everyone, including the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, on bringing it to fruition. The purpose of this unit is to assist citizens from counties Louth and Meath who present with acute mental health problems. They receive treatment and therapy for a short time - usually about two weeks. They are then discharged to the community mental health staff for follow-up care. In Drogheda, the Singleton House facility provides individual patient treatment but there is no day hospital for ongoing treatment and recovery.

A Vision for Change places a strong emphasis on community-based psychiatric services but in north Louth, these are practically non-existent. In Dundalk, the picture is particularly grim. In north Louth, all HSE mental health provision is delivered from a 60-year old building at the Ladywell centre in Louth County Hospital, Dundalk, which the Taoiseach should visit. Against all the odds the mental health providers do great work, but because of issues of damp and lack of suitable space, much of the Ladywell centre is unsuitable. That means there is no child and adolescent mental health provision and no psychiatry of old age in north Louth. After considerable lobbying, additional staff members were allocated to the area, which I welcome, but there is no accommodation for them in Dundalk. Therefore they cannot even be in the place that needs them. Instead patients travel to Ardee or Drogheda, which is totally unacceptable.

There is a long-standing promise of a primary care centre with a facility for community mental health for Dundalk. However, that promise is worthless. There is no start date, no definition and no real commitment. Sometimes this promise is used as an excuse to refuse to upgrade the Ladywell centre. They are stuck in this decrepit building that is not fit for purpose. They are told it cannot be upgraded because a primary care centre is due. There is no definition of when that might be. The choice is quite simple. The Government should deliver the primary care centre for Dundalk as soon as possible or it must upgrade the building at the Ladywell centre.

Louth and Meath have the lowest per capita mental health spend in the State.

I thank the Deputy.

Tá mé críochnaithe anois. As I am sure the Taoiseach knows, there are areas in Dundalk that are highly deprived. I ask the Taoiseach to intervene on two counts. Will he intervene to ensure that citizens in north Louth get the facilities they deserve? Will he intervene to prevent the closure of the 11 child and adolescent mental health beds at the Linn Dara facility?

I have already referred to the Linn Dara situation where a meeting is taking place this afternoon. Sanction has been given for the recruitment of personnel already from January to March this year, including a further 114 assistant clinical psychologists. The difficulty with the Linn Dara facility is not funding but is a question of staffing difficulties. Serious efforts are being made today on a continuing basis to deal with that matter. I hope it can be dealt with conclusively and positively. It is not a case of the usual claim of a shortage of money. Some 1,100 new posts have been provided for mental health and sanctioned and filled between 2012 and 2016. There was additional substantial funding of more than €115 million. Budget 2017 provided further additional funding for mental health, which means that the HSE funding for this key care programme will increase from €826 million in 2016 to more than €850 million this year.

In budget 2017, an additional €35 million was allocated for services to be initiated in 2017. The Deputy is talking about north Louth, which, no more than any other part of the country, still has inadequate services. The range of what I have outlined, which is of particular to the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, is evidence of the Government's continuing commitment to dealing with this.

The Deputy mentioned A Vision for Change. A review of the 2001 Act is under way.

As I mentioned to the Deputy last week, some points made by Deputy Browne are being taken into account. In line with A Programme for a Partnership Government, the Department recently commenced a policy review of A Vision for Change. This began with the evidence-based expert review of international best practice and existing service development. The latter was completed in February of this year and it will inform the next stage of a policy review process and that will take into account the review of the Mental Health Act.

The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, chairs a task force that comprises a diverse group of 18 people from a number of different mental health sectors - public, private, community and voluntary. The task force has a balance of age, gender and diversity and is an action-focused group which has been meeting monthly over the past year. As part of the Minister of State's commitment to ensuring that the voices of children and young people are at the very heart of the work of the task force, a series of consultations with young people themselves has now commenced. The task force and the public consultation process organised by the Minister of State are very active. The detail of what the Deputy referred to in north Louth is a matter on which I can follow up. The overall picture is one of increasing funding and approval, sanction and recruitment of qualified staff to provide the best level of service for children and young people on a 7/7 basis so that nobody is left without attention when they need it.

I will repeat what I said, namely, that there is no child or adolescent mental health provision and no psychiatry of old age in north Louth. Is that acceptable? It cannot be acceptable. There is no adequate facility. There is a decrepit building which cannot even accommodate the extra staff that were brought into the area.

The Taoiseach mentioned A Vision for Change. It contained a recommendation to the effect that the proportion of the total health budget allocated to mental health should be progressively increased to 8.24%. Even that would be below international standards but it has never been realised. The lack of capital investment in mental health services in County Louth has resulted in completely inadequate facilities. How can a parent bring a child with depression 60 km from Carlingford to Drogheda for an appointment on, for example, public transport, which the Government is also cutting back? Why should an older person with perhaps a lifelong history of mental health difficulties be expected to travel 50 km from Omeath to services in Ardee? How can mental health providers be expected to do their job if they cannot even get a desk in Dundalk? When will an appropriate building be provided for mental health services in north Louth so that citizens can access essential and life-saving services?

Nothing is acceptable to Deputy Adams no matter how good or adequate it might be. What is acceptable, however, is the fact that the budget has increased from €826 million to €853 million for this year. What is acceptable is that 1,100 posts have been filled since 2011. What is acceptable is that 160 additional posts have been recruited and filled between January and March of this year and that recruitment campaigns are currently under way and being followed through diligently. What is acceptable is that sanction has been given for an additional 114 assistant psychologists to enhance early intervention primary care counselling services for those under 18 years of age in particular. What is acceptable is the development of a plan to improve 7/7 mental health care nationally. That has been progressed and is nearing completion. What is acceptable is that this has been prioritised in all areas and should be in a position to provide access to a weekend service for current service users, including those in north Louth and many other areas throughout the country. What is acceptable is that a full mapping exercise has been carried out. The HSE is consulting all health sector personnel and assessing the resource implications in order to develop costed actions.

I will follow up in respect of the particular issue Deputy Adams mentioned in north Louth but, overall, this was a Cinderella sector of society where there was not a voice to carry it forward. It is evident that this matter is now, and will continue to be, a central priority of the Government.

The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, is doing very diligent work in this area and it is proving to be progressive. It is not yet there, by any means, in terms of it being a world-class standard but it is a very significant improvement indeed on what was left lying in isolation for so many years.