Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses are very welcome. I thank them for the incredible work they are doing. The survey is very useful. It is from the coalface and it provides a very clear analysis of the situation and what needs to be done to rectify it. The Department and the HSE should be indebted to them for coming up with that data. The findings are also absolutely in line with those of the Mental Health Commission. The witnesses referred to the 49 recommendations and this committee has been in touch with the Department and the HSE about the importance of implementing those 49 recommendations. However, it is important to point out there are three primary recommendations the Mental Health Commission identified. The first of those was the immediate and independent regulation of CAMHS. That is by far the most important one. There have been years of excuses, explanations and long stories about why the service is so bad. There is a need for that essential service to be independently regulated because we cannot depend on either the HSE or the Department to be upfront about what is going on. That is a key part of the problem.

Mental health services for children should be a top priority service.

We need to shine a light on that, as does the Mental Health Commission by regulating it. That needs to happen urgently. It should be our number one demand as a health committee. There is also the question of monitoring the implementation of the recommendations. We do not want this to just be piecemeal. Let us do it properly. It is long overdue. There has to be monitoring but also oversight of CAMHS by the health and safety committee of the HSE. The extent of the serious concern of the Mental Health Commission is that this is now a health and safety issue and it must be overseen. The implementation of these recommendations and the operation of CAMHS must be overseen by that subcommittee. We need to move on those recommendations urgently.

Families for Reform of CAMHS had a meeting with the Department and the HSE in September. Who did it meet? What level were they at? We already expressed when the Mental Health Commission and the HSE were before the committee that we do not have a director of mental health services - there are various other assistant people and so on. It is hard to know why that director post was stood down. It does not seem to make any sense. A lot of these issues and the lack of priority flow from that. Will the witnesses tell us the level of the people they met from the Department and the HSE? What was their response to the issues Families for Reform of CAMHS raised and the survey?