Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator and the committee for their continued interest. This is one of the stand-out new committees. It is a really important one we did not have previously. I welcome the opportunity to put a lot of what we are trying to achieve, and the work we are doing into the public domain. It is very helpful. Going back to ADHD, the current situation is that this was launched in 2021. The Adapt team in Sandyford is one of three current ADHD clinics set up by the national clinical programme. The others cover Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal, and CHO 3, which covers Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary. As I said, I have provided funding for four further teams this year, for which staff are currently being recruited. Those are CHO 7, Dublin, and CHO 4, Cork. The latter covers north and south Lee and north Cork. There is CHO 4, Kerry and west Cork, and then CHO 8, which covers the midland counties of Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Laois, Kildare west and Wicklow. We have not seen anyone coming to my own area in CHO 5 yet, in case anyone thinks there is ministerial preference. The reason we picked the current areas is because we already had part teams in place, so felt we would be able to recruit into those areas more quickly. When these next four clinics are in place, it will mean that 50% of the adult population have access to specialist ADHD services. However, I will be the first to admit there is still a postcode lottery depending on which area you are in. It is hard if you are living in Waterford and want to be referred to a clinic in Cork. That does not happen easily. Once the 11 ADHD teams for adults are in place, everybody in the country will have that coverage.

When I visited Sandyford and met the multidisciplinary team I happened to meet one or two of the service users. I am still struck by the words of a 61-year-old man who said that getting a diagnosis had changed his life and that he had always felt there was something not quite right but he did not know what it was, and now he knows. One can live very well with ADHD when it is diagnosed. ADHD supports are provided for young children and those who receive the support of CAMHS. Some 40% of all referrals to CAMHS are for ADHD. Just because someone turns 18, it should not mean that supports stops. This is one of the five clinical programmes on which we have worked very hard and I give credit to Dr. Amir Niazi for all of his work on the clinical programmes.

Regarding mental health and prison services, I said yesterday that there were 19,000 calls to the Samaritans in 2021 from the prison sector. We did not have those data previously. The Samaritans noted that this occurred the during Covid-19 pandemic when there was a lot of isolation. I recently met a nurse who works for mental health services in the prison sector. This work can be very challenging. She was out of work for six months due to an incident in which she was hurt. It can be very difficult but there are services in place. Dr. Dodd will speak to those.