Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ms Margaret Lowndes from Dublin 12 was also there. Her son had the first part of an ADHD assessment in May. She has rung every single week since then but has not had a response. Ms Caroline Poole has two children in CAMHS, one of whom is diagnosed with anorexia and social anxiety. Both children have been put on medication but neither of their cases has been followed up on. The parents are trying to contact the service. Ms Poole outlined to the committee that she has had to guess when to give her son the next medication. She just has a prescription and has guessed about the timing. I relay this to Mr. Reid in this way because this is what we heard directly from parents in the Oireachtas last week. This is their actual experience as relayed to these committees last week. I cannot think of any other way of doing it. We represent these people and interrogate the systems on their behalf. I cannot think of any more direct or descriptive way to show how difficult it is for Irish citizens trying to protect their children and do the right thing to have those children diagnosed by a system but receive absolutely no follow-up. It would not happen in a hospital. How can it possibly happen with psychiatric medication?