Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

While we are focusing on Jack, the three-year-old on whom the investigation was done, we never mentioned the three recommendations that we failed to deliver on and that an assessment process to determine the needs of children in similar circumstances was being developed to provide a specific support package for them. We need to ensure there is ring-fenced funding for these services and ensure they have a range of placement options for medium and long term when they cannot return home.

I get it 100%. It is important we focus on what is working for our young people. However, unfortunately, in the past year, looking at report after report, young people in this country – even putting disability aside – are being failed by our mental health services, as we saw in CAMHS in Kerry within the past year. We have to be realistic.

As a youth worker and as a woman who lives on a halting site three days a week, I do not have to look too far to see whether we are failing our young people and our young people with disabilities. It is not people around this table personally who are failing our young people when it comes to disabilities, rather it is the system not having that wraparound support or access for our young people. As a member of the Traveller community who was born and reared in Ballyfermot, I will go back to four years ago, when my nephew – this is very personal and I should not even be saying it, but I will – who was then under the age of 18 was struggling with his mental health. I tried my hardest to get him support. We eventually got him into an adult service where the child was afraid. There was nobody there his own age and he was not getting the supports he needed. Today, this young man, who is in his early-20s, is still struggling with his mental health. He has little or no support or services. Like that, he struggled in school, he struggled with dyslexia and also socially – I would not say anxiety – as well. He has a few layers of issues, if you want.

It is not a failure of people here; it is a failure of the State that we continue to fail our young children by not having equal access to mental health services. We have the likes of CAMHS and Jigsaw. In 2018, I was involved in counselling in primary care, CIPC. At the time, it was only developed in Dublin 10. Two or three different parts of Dublin came together in getting people involved from marginalised communities. Youth services as well as mental health services are trying their best to meet the mental health needs of young people. However, unfortunately, much more needs to be done.

I know Dr. Hillery is being honest and I appreciate his honesty around the table when he said that it is discrimination that people who are autistic do not have access to CAMHS. Although I do not want to put words in his mouth; I want to make sure that he said that he believes it is discrimination because that is a tool for me-----