Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for his question about Kerry CAMHS and his co-operation and support for all the families who have been affected by this situation in Kerry over many years. We have had huge number of engagements. I will provide an update on the initial report in January 2022. There were 240 young people who did not receive the standard of care they should have from CAMHS. The HSE issued an apology. Following on from that publication, the Government committed to a non-adversarial route for children and their families to seek compensation. The latest information available as of May is that there have been 228 applications to the scheme, with initial payments made to 222 applications of the 240. There are a lot of learnings from a non-adversarial type approach, where we are not dragging people through the courts, that are really worthwhile.

Unfortunately, there are issues in north Kerry. I authorised a look back across every CAMHS team in the country. There were red flags in north Kerry as well. What has happened since is a senior clinician, supported by a team of CAMHS, was appointed to lead the look-back review. It was hoped that the review would be completed in a short time period with Dr. Colette Halpin. Unfortunately, they realised it would take longer because they had to explore. Red flags were raised immediately. They had to undertake a robust review of all cases. The HSE's priority was that every file of every young person would get a thorough and robust review. A report is currently being drafted based on the findings of all cases reviewed. Once the HSE receives the draft, there will be additional work before completion and publication. The HSE will expedite this as much as possible. I will get it as soon as possible. During the review, any young person whose file showed deficits in the care provided to them were called for an individual open disclosure meeting. That is happening the whole way through, like we dealt with in Kerry south. The important thing is that it is the family and the young person affected who will hear first. They will not hear it in the media. They will not hear it from the Deputy or me. They will hear it from the HSE and it will be dealt with it appropriately. I welcome the fact that we have a huge number of people opted in to the non-adversarial scheme. There are learnings from that.