Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

RTÉ programmes broadcast on three nights last week showed how children were being failed in this state. The programmes in question covered the issues of gambling and foster care and troubled young people, the latter of which is being raised by five Deputies by way of a Topical Issue. Although I can only talk about my own area, CHO area 2, I can empathise clearly with what the young people on the programme said about child and adolescent mental health services and facilities in general. It is shocking to think that at the end of January, some 6,181 children were waiting for a primary care psychological appointment. Most of the 1,200 high priority cases within that cohort have been waiting for approximately 12 months. I cannot understand why we have to wait for children to become acute before there can be an intervention. Why do we have to wait until they are in sixth class before there is an intervention? Why do we always have to wait until they are nearly on the brink of self-harm before there is an intervention? As we know, child and adolescent mental health teams are not completely filled. While we have the teams, we do not have the full complement of staff. I wonder what the Minister of State and the Department of Health are doing to recruit to fill the teams. To be honest, we do not have a functioning child and adolescent mental health service or functioning child and adolescent mental health teams. When one of the 11 components needed is missing, it can be a key driver that spreads throughout many other services. I wonder how the Minister of State intends to address the issues raised last Thursday night.

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