Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for attending. I will ask all my questions together but I understand the Minister will be answering first and that the Minister of State may come back to me later.

Over several weeks, the committee dealt with the significant issue of adolescents or younger persons accessing mental health beds in adult wards. I seek a commitment from the Minister that a way will be found to address and eradicate that problem. It was very distressing to hear testimony in that regard over a number of weeks. The Minister indicated that there are 69 CAMHS teams. How many of those teams are fully functioning and fully staffed? There is much unease among adolescent service users who are in a CAMHS and, particularly, their parents about what will happen when the adolescent reaches 17 years of age. Is there a transition strategy such that an adolescent and his or her parents do not feel as though he or she is being turfed out? How can we can move adolescents into adult care facilities with more ease? Will a step-down facility or similar be put in place? The Minister referred to an initiative to increase the number of CAMHS referrals to be seen this year by 27% compared to 2017. I did not understand the reference and ask him to explain it.

One of the first Topical Issue matters I raised with the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, after his appointment last year related to the counselling services provided by Youth Work Ireland Galway . Its representatives are in the Gallery and I welcome them. As a politician, I am focused on solutions, as are the Minister of State and all present. Organisations such as Youth Work Ireland Galway are focused on solutions and early intervention. Youth Work Ireland Galway provides support to approximately 200 young people between the ages of 12 and 18. Some 33% of referrals to it are made by Tusla and the HSE, 31% by parents and the remainder by schools. When I tabled that Topical Issue on 27 July last year, the service was in danger of closure. The situation has not changed. It still cannot take on new referrals even though 55 young people are waiting to access its supports. The service costs €63 a week for each child. A child receives six weeks of treatment, which may be accessed on a week-on, week-off basis such that the total period is extended to 12 weeks. A child may experience anxiety relating to the transition from national school to secondary school. The Minister of State has heard me raise that issue on several occasions. This is an area in respect of which we, as politicians, focus on solutions. Earlier, the committee discussed the lack of proper staff recruitment or retention. Youth Work Ireland Galway has the right staff and provides appropriate services and can expand into the community and support more areas. It is a pilot scheme which could be rolled out nationwide. It has data and research to support that.

I ask the Minister to review the situation in respect of Youth Work Ireland Galway. In response to its request for increased funding, the HSE replied that it should be noted that the CHO 2 mental health service did not receive an increased budget allocation in respect of section 39 funding in 2018 and consequently the funding of Youth Work Ireland Galway could not be increased. That goes back to a question posed by Deputy Neville. We have not been told how the extra allocation of funding awarded in budget 2017 is being spent. I understood that it was to go to new projects. Youth Work Ireland Galway is such a new project but has sought and been refused funding. Deputy Neville's question is valid because neither I nor any other member present knows where that money is being spent.