Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This has often been described as a crisis and it is no longer in any way a controversial statement. The state of mental health services is very clearly a crisis and an emergency. Last week we saw the RTÉ programme "The Big Picture - Young and Troubled"; it was an excellent piece of public service broadcasting. The matter enters the heart of the public debate every so often, but for the young people affected, in particular, it is an ongoing and daily issue. Day in and day out, they wait for appointments. The Minister of State is aware of the particular interest in this issue in Cork as there has been much concern expressed in the past 12 to 18 months as the suicide rates in the city and county are above the national average in recent years. The Cork and Kerry area accounts for a substantial part of the mental health waiting list, making up 29% of the total. Last year there were approximately 120 people waiting for more than 18 months and that pattern is replicated nationally. There are approximately 250 young people waiting for longer than 12 months for an appointment with CAMHS at this time, which is scandalous. These young people find themselves portrayed as statistics, but the reality is that day after day they go about trying to live fulfilling lives by attending school or work and trying to find satisfaction or hope in life and all the while they wait months for appointments. Some of them could be in crisis. As there are not enough mental health professionals available, they are in the difficult position where they have to try to triage in what is a most severe crisis. As many of the young people who are waiting are in a very severe crisis, mental health professionals must try to establish whose cases are the most urgent. It is a fish and loaves job, as there are not enough professionals to go around. Young people are suffering as a consequence.

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