I raise the very serious issue of the mental health crisis in County Tipperary. A Fine Gael Government forced through A Vision for Change and left those of us in County Tipperary bereft of a single long-stay bed for persons with mental health issues. St. Luke's hospital in Kilkenny cannot take them. A Vision for Change promised a lot but delivered nothing. The people of County Tipperary will be taking to the streets in Clonmel next Saturday to demand that the Minister for Health reinstates beds. We have met the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, who I believe is doing his best, but we have got nothing. The crisis house that was promised is not yet complete and we do not have a single nurse. People are being left on the street or sent home to die. In many cases, they take their own life. What is happening to people with mental health issues is a scandal out of all proportion. They are forced into overcrowded emergency departments, not treated or rejected and sent home. Many of them have spoken to me. Fr. Michael Toomey has spoken out on the issue, as have Maurice Cagney, Caroline Tobin and countless others. There are countless stories. We need action now because we cannot wait any longer. We are losing people on a daily basis, including young people.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The HSE's mental health budget has been increased by more than €276 million since 2012. An additional €84 million for mental health services was announced in budget 2019, bringing the total available close to €1 billion, of which some €55 million was provided to progress new developments. I will bring to the Minister's attention the issues raised by the Deputy in his constituency.