I also want to raise the issue we heard about yesterday in the Joint Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care. From 1 July this year three psychiatrists who look after children in the Waterford-Wexford area are going to resign because of the unsafe practices they have to work under in Wexford. These psychiatrists look after a population of up to 250,000 people. There are many children with these issues. Here we have a situation in which we have 3.6 people employed where there should be six. One of these is out on sick leave. We are going to end up with no psychiatrist for any child in the south east.

On the same matter, central to the crisis, which is just one on the list of crises to which we continually refer which are presided over by the Minister's Government, is the issue of recruitment and retention. It is only weeks since a Sinn Féin Private Members' motion was passed which instructed the Government to prioritise pay as part of the recruitment and retention process. This has not been done. It is not good enough to say that we have to wait for the Public Service Pay Commission. Something needs to be done now. If we do not address the issue of recruitment and retention, we will continue to come into this House day after day and list off new crises within our health service. Recruitment and retention need to be tackled as a matter of priority.

Deputy O'Reilly recognises that a very specific provision was made in the recent pay agreement that, where there is difficulty in recruiting in particular grades, there would be a process under which the Public Service Pay Commission would examine the case and come back to Government with specific recommendations based on the evidence. It is right that that approach be taken. I understand the issues the Deputies are raising because I see them myself in my own work. There is a huge surge in need in this area. I know the number of children being cared for in child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, has increased by 40%. That is the number getting services, but there are still waiting lists and those lists are expanding. This is an area of very high growth in need. There is a real difficulty in recruiting not just in Ireland, but in other countries.

One of the responses has to be to rebuild our primary care service in the mental health area, which we have neglected. We have relied too much on a consultant-led service and we need to develop a more coherent response in this area. That is what is being worked on.

The answer did not cover the situation in Kilkenny, which was the original question I asked.

The Minister will come back to the Deputy on that matter.

I will have to get the Minister to respond to the Deputy.

That concludes Questions on Promised Legislation. Unfortunately 11 Deputies were not reached.