Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure which Minister the Deputy was referring to when he referred to a Minister who says everything is fantastic and wonderful and so on. No one is saying that. I am saying we need to acknowledge how far we have come with a view to improving and building on that further. We cannot always focus on the negative. That is merely the point I am making.

The answer to the Deputy's question is the very same as the answer I gave to his colleague. I am more focused on how we do what we do and more appropriate referrals of people to CAMHS and other such services. There are many inappropriate referrals. Many people are left on waiting lists and are not appropriately referred, unreferred or sent back down, and on a continual appraisal and priority basis they are being deemed not appropriate for a consultant psychiatrist. Not everyone with a mental health issue needs to see a named consultant psychiatrist. Many lower-level interventions that can happen can be just as powerful and appropriate for individual cases. I will continue to work with the Deputy and his party to make sure we reform how we do what we do to bring the CAMHS up to the standards to which we all aspire.

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