Dr. Cathal Morgan:

Deputy Sherlock makes a very fair point. The HSE is committed to implementing what is called the national access policy because it does exactly what he is calling for, which is the right thing, that is, the connection between primary care services, mental health services and disability services. We are a secondary special service, so we want as many people as possible who do not necessarily have complex needs to be aligned to a primary care service to have a rapid intervention. When there is a complex issue it does require that both CAMHS and disability services work together to make sure that the intervention is right at a point in time. Our national access policy, which my colleague on the mental health side and I are both committed to implementing this year, should make improvements in that area, notwithstanding the additional budgets that have been received by mental health through the service plan this year as well.