Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all of the presenters and the Minister of State. I also welcome back Ms Lauren Keogh and Ms Sinéad McGee who were part of a group of mothers who gave powerful testimonies of their lived experiences. It is great that both of them are here again today. It is great that they keep us on track when it comes to asking the right questions.

I have questions for the Minister of State, the HSE, Tusla, the Ombudsman and everyone else. The Minister of State is newly appointed.

I would be interested to know how the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, rates the child mental health services in Ireland, his priorities for his first 100 days in office, if he believes his budget is big enough and, if not, what he would like it to be and what percentage of that budget he would like to be spent on child mental health. I would be interested in also hearing the Minister of State's response to Professor O'Connor's suggestion on how to tackle the waiting lists, which is very interesting. We can do many things, including host the Rugby World Cup. We could do this if we put our minds to it.

My question to the HSE is when will the 24 hour cover for child mental health be in place? I would like to read into the record the testimony of a mother, named Louise, to the committee last week, in which she describes her son's breakdown following the death of his father. She states:

We went to accident and emergency that night when the ambulance came. My son, a fit and healthy 17-year old who was supposed to line out and play a hurling match the following day was brought in on a stretcher and wheeled catatonic into accident and emergency from an ambulance that night but he was alive. We spent that night in accident and emergency. I sat in the waiting room watching all the ads, such as "It's ok not to be ok", "Ask for help" and "Tell someone". That is absolute rubbish. There was nothing there for us when we went looking for it. It is a complete and utter contradiction and it is hypocritical. There was nothing there. We had been everywhere looking for help.

Following on from that, what is the HSE reaction to public health campaigns that have great messages but no substance in terms of back-up?

Dr. Geoffrey Shannon gave powerful testimony to the committee about the importance of inter-agency work. I was glad to hear Mr. Gibson speak so well about that work. What is the HSE view on it? Dr. Shannon, who produced an audit and reviewed several models of inter-agency co-operation, pointed out that he has emphasised throughout the audit report that notification is not communication. In other words, it is not good enough to send on a letter. What is important is communication and working around the child. There is a tendency among State agencies to accept that if they fill in a form and push an issue the problem is solved. It does not work that way for the child. I would be interested if the HSE and Tusla could rate out of ten the inter-agency work. I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, is a former teacher and so I would also be interested to hear his rating of the service.

My final question is to Dr. Muldoon. What innovative proposals does he have to fulfil the unfillable posts? As he raised that as an issue I would be interested in hearing his views on it.. I would also like if Ms Gilheaney could reiterate her proposals on strengthening consent for the under 18s in terms of treatment, including detention, involuntary detention and medication. Children have fewer protections than adults and I would like if Ms Gilheaney could remind us of the position in this regard.