I thank the Ceann Comhairle and the staff for being so accommodating this parliamentary term.

Sentiment score: 0.36

I raise the issue of the community access support team, CAST, in Limerick, which has prevented 133 detentions under section 12 of the Mental Health Act and reduced the number emergency department presentations. It has responded to over 1,000 incidents. There is evidence for this and the University of Limerick published a report last week. It has been extraordinarily successful. It needs a dedicated core budget. It has been transformative in normalising a non-criminalising response to mental health. Will the Government formally establish this team as a national interagency crisis response service in the upcoming budget?

Sentiment score: 0.08