James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Children's Mental Health Coalition and its various member organisations. It is very worthwhile. We need a more child-centred approach to this issue. Last year during the course of the debate before the referendum on the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill it was discovered and brought to our notice that over 30,000 children had welfare concerns, some of which related to bullying and other issues such as mental health problems. While supports for parents dealt with many of those, many related to mental health problems.

Our system has changed compared with that of two generations back. Most parents work and there is very little communication between parents and children, due to financial constraints. After school care systems are largely underdeveloped here compared with other countries. That needs to be addressed fairly urgently. Children do not need money. We did not have money when we were going school. Money is given to children today and they have plenty of cash. They need other supports, they need adults and personnel around them to take an interest in their points of view. This is absent from a child's life today. When I was going to school I never heard a child say he or she was fed up. We did not have the same number of electronic devices as children today have. There is an absence of services for young children when their parents are working. How can this be addressed? There is a serious lack of resources and support for children and there are real enemies which lead to personal tragedies in many children's lives. Something needs to be done to address this situation.