Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister and the Minister of State. Mental health is a massive issue and more funding needs to be allocated to mental health services. I note the Minister has committed to increasing the mental health budget by €55 million in 2019, which will be additional to the €910 million budget for this year. There are nine community healthcare organisations, CHOs, all of which are allocated differing levels of funding. Many CHOs are not getting the level of funding they should get. CHO 5 covers my area and I have dealt with two cases recently. There is a 44-bed psychiatric unit in Kilkenny and during the Christmas period, more than 50 people used the services and they had to be accommodated on mattresses in the unit. A few weeks ago, the same thing happened. There are not enough beds in the psychiatric unit in Kilkenny and it is unacceptable. I raised this issue with CHO 5.

I asked whether we could get funding for additional beds in CHO 5 and was told, "No". We need extra beds because there are people on couches and mattresses. That has happened twice this year, which is unacceptable.

CAMHS users aged between 17 and 18 years in Carlow are being sent to south east Galway because we do not have the service in Carlow. Last year, 87 children were placed in adult beds in psychiatric units, which is unacceptable.

Recently the self-harm intervention programme, SHIP, was tried out in the south east. I do not know if it was implemented in other areas. People still waiting to use the service. Parents have told me they are waiting and that is unacceptable. It worries me that we hear more money will be put in. Where is it going? What is it spent on? There are many people in my area waiting to get into CAMHS to see psychiatrists and doctors. There is a massive waiting list. There is one doctor in Carlow, and we need more. I can only focus on my area, although this discussion will deal with all areas. There are massive problems. I want to know about the funding, the services and the ages. Children aged between 16 and 18 years are falling between stools. The service is not there for them. One client from Carlow has to go to Galway for services. His mother and father have to travel there to visit him. It is unacceptable that we have nowhere for him to go in Carlow.

There are many questions I would like to ask. I know there is a problem in recruitment but we need more nurses and psychiatrists. Nurses are put to the pin of the collar. We need to work on recruitment. It is sad that 'A Vision for Change' did not work. We need to make sure that this new vision will work.