Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We need a national response and we are getting a national response. The Government recognises this is a problem that from its beginning and through to its tragic end in some cases affects communities, households and families all over the country, for a variety of reasons. That is why a Minister of State was appointed, with ring-fenced moneys, to do something about it. It is why the national response is A Vision for Change. It is why the taxpayer funds the national response, which includes an additional €70 million in expenditure for 2012 and 2013.

In regard to inpatient child and adolescent services, 39 child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient beds were available nationally at the end of April 2013, comprising 12 in Dublin, 12 in Cork and 15 in Galway. A further eight beds will be commissioned in Cork, while five more beds will be open in Galway by the end of the year.

The second phase of the child and adolescent unit at St. Vincent's Hospital, Fairview, will increase capacity from 12 to 18 beds in Dublin by the end of 2013. The increase in bed capacity is reflected in a 57% decrease in admissions of children to adult units, from 247 in 2008 to 106 in 2012. I accept that a child should only be admitted to an adult psychiatric unit as a last resource. A Vision for Change recommended the provision of 80 child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient beds. There are currently 39 nationally and the changes that are now taking place will bring that figure to 76 by the end of next year. It is envisaged that the provision of improved community based services, coupled with that increase in bed capacity, will put an end to the practice of placing children and adolescents in adult psychiatric facilities. The additional funding of €70 million between 2012 and 2013 is primarily being used to strengthen community mental health teams in adult and children mental health services.

The Linn Dara child and adolescent mental health facility at Cherry Orchard in Dublin opened recently and a number of child and adolescent community mental health teams have moved into the new premises. It is expected that the day hospital will be operational by the end of this year and it is also proposed to construct a 22-bed inpatient facility on the Cherry Orchard site. The new facility is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early next year. A ten-bed child and adolescent forensic mental health unit will also be provided as part of the proposed new Central Mental Hospital campus which the Government approved some time ago.

On 4 September 2012, the HSE management team approved new access protocols for 16 and 17 year olds to mental health services, which were to come into effect from 1 January 2013. As a result, with effect from the start of this year, in all new cases involving children up to their 17th birthday who require mental health assessment and treatment, the child is seen by the child and adolescent mental health services in areas where current limits are 16 years of age. With effect from 1 January 2014, all children up to their 18th birthday who require mental health assessment and treatment will be seen by the child and adolescent mental health services.

What do these developments mean? They mean the Government has recognised the problem; is implementing the national document, A Vision for Change; has increased expenditure by €70 million over two years; has ring-fenced money specifically for this purpose; and has appointed a Minister of State who is well capable of delivering the structural changes that are important for the country as a whole and individual families.

I take the point Deputy Adams raises and note the concern he expressed. While we cannot do everything overnight, we have a clear strategy to have mental health services provided as part of normal health service delivery in the interests of everybody.

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