Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this very important debate on the current state of mental health services and the urgent need for more reform and development. I totally support the Children's Mental Health Coalition which consists of more than 50 organisations from a variety of backgrounds and sectors, including children's rights, human rights, education and mental health services. I also warmly and strongly support the recommendations made in the coalition's report from 2013, Someone to Care, which identifies the experiences and mental health needs of children and young people in the care and youth justice systems. I strongly support implementation of the national guidelines on mental health promotion for primary and post-primary schools.

What is the reality on the ground? As of December 2014, the number of staff posts in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, CAMHS, was 499.5 whole-time equivalents. This is just 41.7% of the staffing level recommended in A Vision for Change - 1,196 whole-time equivalents - and represents a 2.9% decrease in the number of staff in the CAMHS at the end of 2013. According to the Minister's performance assurance report at the end of 2014, the waiting list for the CAMHS has increased to 2,818 cases, an 8% increase on the figure for the same period in the previous year. A total of 405 children and adolescents, or 14%, have been on the waiting list for more than 12 months. By the end December 2014, there had been 290 child and adolescent admissions, 31% of which were to approved adult mental health inpatient units.

Yesterday I visited a community education project in Donaghmede in my constituency. The organisation which runs the project, Target, is excellent, but it is facing many difficulties. The HSE pulled support from its special needs programme, thereby depriving the most vulnerable people of the opportunity to learn new skills which would give them confidence and enable them to live independently in their communities. The real benefit for students was in integrating, over a cup of tea, and improving their social and communication skills.

However, the HSE no longer funds a manager or clinical director of its counselling service. On the retirement of its manager, who was on secondment to Target by the HSE, the funds were directed towards a clinical director for a counselling service. It had a clinical director two days a week but after two years the funding was cancelled. We also had an excellent mediation service in Coolock through the Northside Community Law Centre. This, too, is under fierce pressure.

It is important to ensure voluntary organisations on the ground are supported. What do we need to do? We need to prioritise the full range of mental health services from primary to specialist mental health services. CAMHS should provide mental health services to children and adolescents aged zero to 18 years of age. Service users, carers and their families should be given the opportunities to influence developments within the mental health services based on their experiences. Finally, mental health promotion and primary prevention should be targeted at child populations at risk.

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