Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 22 November 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Mental Health Supports in Schools and Tertiary Education: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Marc Ó CathasaighMarc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I realise the clock is against me, but what Dr. Muldoon was driving at about the need for integration between the Department and the HSE if we are putting these mental health services into schools is of critical importance. I was at a meeting with Tusla representatives in the south east yesterday and was struck again by the piecemeal nature of the supports offered to children. They end up acting with a host of different agencies. Very often the borders of those agencies are not quite the same, so the Tusla area and the community healthcare organisation, CHO, area do not tend to align. I want to give Dr. Muldoon the opportunity, if the Acting Chair allows it, to expand on that idea of how we could get to an integrated model of mental health services that is going to answer best the needs of the children.