Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for selecting this matter which is of concern to all Members. We are aware that the Mental Health Commission has published its 2013 report today and of the concerns expressed in it about the 91 admissions of children to adult mental health facilities during 2013. We all have experience of the impact on families and individual children of the requirement to seek such help. We are aware of the inordinate difficulties with which families must contend, first, in dealing with a child who has mental health problems and, second, in dealing with a system that is, regrettably, not always as sympathetic or proactive as one would wish. To find, in addition to all of these problems, that so many children were placed in completely inappropriate adult settings at a time when, it appears, there were vacancies in the appropriate settings is particularly concerning.

The report indicates that although in 2013 there was provision for a maximum of 48 beds, they were not filled at all times. People were told beds were unavailable because the child and adolescent community mental health, CAMH, service does not operate an emergency response service, particularly at weekends. While we support the Government's ambition to develop and deliver up to 108 beds by 2015, we must judge the service based on what is available today. All the indications are that even the limited number of 48 beds are not in use full time and not accessible by those who need them.

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