A departing consultant paediatric psychologist has called on the Taoiseach to apologise to children in the South East for problems in the mental health service.
Dr Kieran Moore is leaving his post after 16 years of service in Wexford.
He has been highly critical of the lack of facilities in the region including the non-availability of acute bed space in Wexford and the lack of professional staff.
Speaking on South East Radio, Dr Moore says Leo Varadkar needs to take responsibility for the current situation.
He said: "I want him to apologise to children who continue to be admitted to adult psychiatric hospitals in 2018.
There are plenty of parents in Wexford who know what it is like to go into a child stuck in a room, barely bigger than the bed, with two nurses who are not trained in paediatric psychiatry - they are doing their best - but what are we doing, it is just mad.