I am glad the Minister for Health is here. The programme for Government refers to reducing the number of people on trolleys in our hospitals. This seems like a joke to people in Limerick. We have an emergency in our hospital every single day. So far this month, an average of 70 people have been waiting on trolleys in the hospital. Before the Minister gives me a spin about reducing the numbers, already this year 3,000 more people have been on trolleys in Limerick hospital than last year. One step the Minister could take immediately do to address this matter is deliver a second MRI scanner. Will he do that? He stated in a reply to parliamentary question on 10 October that the issue would be considered as part of the HSE budget. Will he make a commitment to deliver this scanner as it is exactly what nurses at the hospital are seeking immediately? Will the Minister give a commitment today that it will be delivered, funded and staffed?

I have already given that commitment but I am happy to give it again. I have engaged with Deputies on a cross-party basis in the mid-west on this issue. It is fair to say that in years gone by the region was left with an inadequate number of beds. We are fixing that problem. I recently paid an unannounced visit to University Hospital Limerick where I saw that a 60-bed ward extension is under construction. We will deliver another 96 beds under the capital plan. We have delivered a new emergency department in University Hospital Limerick after years of neglect. I believe there is merit is having an extra MRI scanner. I have been convinced of that case by the chief executive of the hospital and Members of this House. I have asked the National Treatment Purchase Fund, the hospital group and the HSE to do their best to put a funding stream in place. I want to see a second MRI scanner provided urgently at the hospital. I will keep in touch with the Members from the mid-west on that.

Maxine Maguire is a name I have mentioned in this Chamber previously. Maxine was a young girl whom I had the privilege of teaching in primary school.

She was a beautiful young person who died by her own hand two and a half years ago. Today, her parents, Kathy and Robbie, and a number of friends, family and supporters, will come to the gates of Leinster House to protest about inadequacies in the mental health service. Maxine was somebody who looked for help and initially she received it, but there were huge gaps within the system that absolutely failed her. We know this because of the work that Maxine's mother, Kathy, has undertaken in the past two and a half years in terms of finding out the answers, and the HSE has admitted the shortcomings that were there.

The Taoiseach spoke earlier about funding for mental health services. It is not just about funding. It is about outcomes protocols and procedures, and about helping those who need it. Maxine mattered. Her life mattered and her death mattered also. I am asking the Taoiseach what can be done to make sure the proper protocols and procedures are put in place to make sure that lives like Maxine's will not be lost again.

I call Deputy Barry on the same matter.

Play was made earlier of the fact that the numbers on CAMHS waiting lists were down, but there are 2,500 children and adolescents currently on those waiting lists. Social isolation, poverty, inequality, unemployment, oppression and alienation have not gone away, but where is the funding that is necessary to get to grips with this situation? The €39 million that has been mentioned would be insufficient even if all of it were to be ploughed directly into mental health service provision. I would like clarification on this, flowing on from the previous discussion. Deputy Buckley said that the €39 million was broken down into €26 million for pay and €13 million for Portrane. Mental Health Reform is backing those figures. Is the Minister saying it is wrong and, if so, how much is he saying is going directly into mental health provision?

I thank Deputy O'Loughlin. I can tell she knew Maxine personally and I would be very happy to talk with her about the learnings she believes there are in terms of how the system failed Maxine.

This is an issue on which we have worked on a cross-party basis and I think we have made good progress. We now have a budget for mental health that is more than €1 billion for the first time ever and we will open a new mental health facility in Portrane early next year following its completion this year. We have brought in a new HSE grade of assistant psychologist and we have recruited 114 of them. We set up only last week the first ever 24-7 signposting helpline so people who need help at any hour of the day or night can know where to go to get that assistance. As the Taoiseach said, we have seen a fall of 20% in the CAMHS waiting list, and we need to continue to do more in that regard. This year, we will also see the publication of the new A Vision for Change. I hope we can continue to work on these issues as there is an awful lot more work that we need to do.

On Deputy Barry's question, first, I take offence at the use of the word "play". Nobody plays in regard to this matter, which is one that everybody in this House takes seriously and works very hard on. We want to achieve the same outcome, which is building mental health resilience in our country and reducing the level of suicide, and we have seen some progress on both of those matters.

What of the €39 million?

In direct answer to Deputy Barry's question, we cannot just confine the spending on mental health to those areas. As the Taoiseach outlined, the Minister of State with responsibility for higher education and the Minister for Education and Skills will also be spending money on mental health this year. In addition, a number of the 1,000 posts under Sláintecare will be in the mental health area.