I spoke to the Minister of State last week about the passing of Stephen McCarthy who took his own life in August 2024. Over the weekend, I received a text from his brother Shane who lives in London. He said that: If you have a family member yourself and people that you care about, no matter what community you're from, as everyone probably knows I'm from the Traveller community, my brother Stephen was also but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter where you're from or who you are, nobody deserves to die through suicide. We're all meant to die when we're old and live our life to the fullest with lots of achievements along the way and it aches my heart that my brother Stephen won't have that chance. There are serious problems among Travellers. The suicide rate for Traveller males is nine times the rate in the overall community. Since Covid, the age profile has totally changed based on my conversations with people who are working in mental crisis. There have been 87 deaths between 2022 and 2024 in Kerry alone. We all know the history of the CAMHS fiasco scandal in Kerry and three years later, we are still waiting for the north Kerry report. I know it has been completed but has not hit the Minister of State's desk. It is there but we do not know what is happening with it. Kerry is one of 11 counties without a suicide crisis assessment nurse. If we could achieve one thing through this, it would be that every county should have that nursing service so that it is timely as was set out in Sláintecare - right treatment, right time and right place. That is what is needed. I am begging the Minister of State to make that available for the people of Kerry to address the crisis there.

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