Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I totally agree with Ms Walsh's assessment of resources. When I see a child who is depressed, if he or she is not actively suicidal and I refer them to CAMHS, I would have no problem with him or her waiting four weeks or whatever to be assessed. However, there needs to be a crisis helpline for health professionals whereby, if the child is actively suicidal, there are ring-fenced appointments to ensure that the child is assessed within 24 hours. We need to redirect resources into that. It is not something one would be using very often but when one needs to use it, it should be there - a crisis phone line for health professionals which facilitates kids being assessed within 24 hours in a crisis situation, providing ring-fenced appointments to be used in cases of emergency.