Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We talked about the financial costs but there are other costs on relationships, for example. We all know, unfortunately, that if you have a child who has issues it puts huge pressure on families. I mentioned that, in some families, there is more than one child in that situation. We did not mention An Garda Síochána. That is another service called on which is totally unsuitable for a child, young adult or older adult with mental health issues. That should be a last resort. Families rely on that and they are the ones who probably have their own stories to tell about the challenges they face trying to access services.

We mentioned a few things this morning, including the questions from September. If the witness speaks to the clerk afterwards we will follow up on that. We also spoke about the mental heath Bill not being a priority, as was mentioned by a number of members. The witness spoke about new initiatives and asked what they were. We can follow up on that with the Minister. Also mentioned was the lack of a director of mental health services, which I think was put to Bernard Gloster when he was before the committee.

The lack of joined-up thinking was mentioned. Some members suggested that we have a follow-up meeting with the Minister and whoever else is relevant. We will discuss that at our next private meeting. I assure the witnesses we want to move this situation on. We are conscious that the subcommittee on mental health of this committee has already had several meetings on the matter. We have had people in to the committee. If there is a general conclusion from today's meeting, it is that there are huge challenges in the system and that families are suffering. We are failing children and young adults as a society and as an Oireachtas.

I thank the witnesses for coming in and sharing their views and information with the committee. I thank Families for Reform of CAMHS for its engagement with the committee on this important matter. The committee will meet in private session at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, 23 January.