Mr. Bernard Gloster:

Sometimes that does not work because when people have a fundamental distrust of us they do not trust the complaints process either. I have met many families who feel that way. At times, professionals might be frustrated with the position a parent might keep advocating. I made the point recently in an interview that I am paid to be frustrated whereas parents are not. Parents are anxious about their children and they will go to the ends of the earth to find a way to address that anxiety. Even when saying no, our job is to be compassionate and kind.

Regarding recruitment, the Senator is correct, disability is exempt from the recruitment pause in most grades, other than management administration. This is because disability is now also a separate Vote, and because the shortfall below the funded target is so significant. Unfortunately, CAMHS is not exempt from the pause for the few weeks left in the year except for consultant doctors and graduate mental health nurses who can be recruited. On a positive note - and I have commented publicly on this - there will be 2,200 additional new posts for the health service next year. I am delighted that not all of that figure is destined for acute-centric posts. Some 70 posts are specifically directed to CAMHS. Those posts will be protected, recruited for and filled. There is no doubt that the health services is able to recruit better than it did before, which is good. We are losing fewer employees that we did before, which is also good. However, there comes a time when we are at full complement for what we are funded to do. I have made the distinction many times. That is what we are funded to do, it is not what we are saying we need. We would always look for more but we have to demonstrate some level of control in spending what we have.

CAMHS will be recruiting again in January. I will give a brief description of the service in terms of its recruitment and staffing volumes. I have worked in the health service for a very long time. I remember when the first CAMHS consultant was appointed in Limerick where I was based. This was one consultant for three counties and he had a secretary. There are now six consultant-led CAMHS multidisciplinary teams in that area. It has significantly expanded from its beginning, but that is not to say that we do not need to do more. I want message to go out from the committee in response to parents that I will not lead a health service which treats people as if they are problem because they advocate for their children.