Mr. Paul Reid:

I will comment on CAMHS. Ms O'Connor gave some data about HSE initiatives. In 2017, a task force was established by the Government, of which I was a co-chair with the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people, Deputy Jim Daly, and we produced the end report. That set out a range of actions in respect of CAMHS initiatives that were to be put in place and those actions still hold true. Many of them have been done but more need to be invested in. One of those actions that was launched recently was a helpline to support young adults at points of distress in their lives. The National Forensic Mental Health Service, based in Portrane, is also coming on stream. It will have a state-of-the-art, dedicated CAMHS unit with dedicated beds. The facility is due for completion before the end of the year. I have been in the hospital and it is a fantastic facility that will be commissioned next year.

A number of committee members have raised an issue about the general pressure on our emergency departments. It has been raised in the context of UHL, Naas hospital and more generally. My assessment of the past six months suggests the following, much of which is Sláintecare related. When considering the pressure points on our emergency departments, we are going to have to stand back and look at what we are going to do differently because if we keep investing in the same way we have been, we will continue to get the same results.