Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I join with others in asking for a special debate this week on the Children’s Rights Alliance report card in respect of children’s mental health services. For three years in a row, the Government has received an E grade. This is based on the fact that children are still being moved into adult mental health units, that the number of beds relating to children’s mental health services has decreased from 70 to 50. It is also based on the Government’s hopeless performance in relation to CAMHS whereby more than 4,000 children are waiting for access to services. Last summer, the Mental Health Commission compiled an in-depth report on the operation of CAMHS. It made 49 recommendations, the principal one being that the Mental Health Commission must provide independent regulation of CAMHS. When are we going to address this issue in a comprehensive way. There is a serious responsibility on the Government to tackle this matter. We were promised that vulnerable children would have additional services as a result of the work of the unit in the Taoiseach’s Department. We are yet to see any improvement at all in those services. We need a debate urgently.

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