Galway Bay fm newsroom:
Galway Hurler Conor Whelan is calling on the Health Minister to address underfunding for mental health services.
The Jigsaw charity ambassador has challenged Stephen Donnelly to make a name for himself as the Health Minister who ended mental health waiting lists.
In a post on Twitter, Conor Whelan outlined his concerns around mental health and the struggles that people are experiencing in the midst of the Covid pandemic.
He acknowledges the HSE must redirect funds to tackle the virus but has questioned why the same funds cannot be allocated to mental health services under normal circumstances.
It comes as he cites 21 people have died by suicide in Galway since the start of 2020, including 9 people since the the start of June.
Meanwhile, there were 421 deaths by suicide nationwide last year, while Ireland has the 4th highest suicide rate in Europe for males aged from 15-24.
