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

I thank Deputy are for raising this very important issue. I am well aware the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, has had discussions with him on the subject and will continue to engage with him. He appreciates the Deputy's very constructive approach in dealing with the issue and he apologises that he cannot be here today to take the debate.

With regard to this serious issue, the HSE National Service Plan 2018 commits to further develop all aspects of child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, including acute bed provision, better out-of-hours liaison and reducing waiting times, especially for those waiting more than 12 months. The demand for CAMHS has seen a 26% increase in referrals since 2012 and therefore CAMHS is a strategic priority action for the HSE.

In 2018, the Government has provided for an increase of €35 million in development spending for mental health. Part of this increase will pay for developments commenced last year. There also will be additional funding of €22 million for pay-related costs. This will result in a mental health budget of €910 million, which reflects an increase of around €200 million, or approximately 28%, since 2012. Mental Health is also guaranteed a further €55 million in 2019.

Additional resources and facilities means there are now 69 CAMHS teams, and three paediatric liaison teams, supported by 70 operational CAMHS beds nationally, with further beds planned to come onstream as approved staffing posts are filled at local level. It is envisaged that the increased funding will help develop the CAMHS service overall through provision of: a seven day per week service to enhance supports for vulnerable young persons in line with Connecting for Life; eating disorder specialist community teams; day hospital provision, in-patient admissions, and more appropriate supports for community teams; and enhanced access by older adolescents to specialist mental health services and, for those requiring acute admission, their continued appropriate placement and care.

The acute CAMHS unit at Linn Dara, Cherry Orchard, covers the Kildare and south-west Dublin areas. There are three consultant-led multidisciplinary community CAMHS teams serving County Kildare. The north Kildare team is based in the new Celbridge primary care centre, the mid-Kildare team in Sycamore House, Millennium Park, Naas, and the south Kildare team is based in the new Kildare primary care centre.

In line with the recommendations contained in A Vision for Change, a fourth team is coming into operation in Kildare from mid-February 2018. The fourth team has been established to meet the increasing population of the county. The new team will facilitate a realignment of catchment areas of existing teams, in line with the new primary care networks. It is planned that this team will be co-located with the south Kildare team, pending the completion of a CAMHS suite in the new Clane primary care centre. Six posts have been recruited for this team.

There are also plans to increase the consultant staffing in the Kildare area to allow further service development. The Linn Dara community teams also have access to a dedicated adolescent day programme and, from February 2018, to a specialist eating disorders team. Both of these are located on the Cherry Orchard Hospital campus.

The Deputy can rest assured that CAMHS will continue to receive priority from the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, the Department of Health and the HSE. One aspect in particular that the Minister wishes to develop is improved cross-referral within the HSE, and better inter-agency links between the executive and the education, disability, and child care sectors. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, will ensure that, in light of the significant funding provided in budget 2018 for mental health, CAMHS will continue to be prioritised by the executive, including improvements relating to Kildare.

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