Health Minister insists he is working 'extremely hard' to make up for 'decades of neglect' of services

Minister for Health Simon Health has defended his record in the area of mental health services and said he has been working “extremely hard” for the past three years to make up for “decades of neglect” of the service.

He was responding to a report by the Inspector of Mental Health Services (Dr Susan Finnerty) which said it was "quite astounding" that the State has failed to provide adequate rehabilitation services in the sector.