Minister for Mental Health visits local services in Kilkenny

The Minister for Mental Health visited a number of local services this week and commended the ‘huge interactivity between all the various organisations’ in Kilkenny.

Speaking after visiting Ossory Youth, Samaritans and TASK on Monday, Minister Butler said she was delighted to come to Kilkenny and meet some of the organisations that are providing invaluable support on the ground.

“I was really struck by the fact that there’s a huge interactivity between all the various organisations in Kilkenny, which is really important,” she said.

Minister Butler was joined on the visit by Minister Malcolm Noonan and Deputy John McGuinness along with other local public representatives.

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Following the visit, Minister Noonan – who has worked in the past on suicide prevention projects, said:

“I’m delighted that my ministerial colleague, Mary Butler TD, could come to Kilkenny to see the fantastic work that is happening on the ground in relation to mental health supports. One thing that she has noticed is the fact that there's always been a culture of good interaction between the various organisations here, and indeed between the HSE and the voluntary-led organisations,” he said.

Deputy John McGuinness told The Kilkenny People that while he welcomed the great news this week in terms of a €5million Capital Plan for Health in Kilkenny and Carlow, he would like to see a greater investment in mental health, particularly with groups like Teac Tom and the Samaritans and many others like them that bridge a gap with the help of volunteerism.

“Those groups are saving lives every day and can provide much more if they were given the ability to do so through substantial funding.

“Showing the Minister all of the positive work carried out by these groups within our communities and showing her the potential of growth through Government investment is exactly why we brought Minister Butler to Kilkenny this week. She was highly impressed with the great services and level of volunteerism we have in Kilkenny,” he added.