Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This closure is unacceptable and inexcusable. I agree with Deputy Buckley that this is a question of forward planning. As the Minister of State said, the Linn Dara CAMHS unit in Cherry Orchard hospital covers a population of nearly 500,000 people. This means that more than 200,000 young people no longer have access to day programmes. The Minister of State has said they have access to local CAMHS services, but that is not what many of those involved need at this stage. Most of them have been through the CAMHS service and have been referred to the day service for a particular reason. If they are unable to access those day services for a number of months, it could be detrimental to their health and future well-being. I urge the Minister of State to get the HSE to look at this again now, rather than waiting until September or October before deciding when this service will be reopened. It needs to be reopened now.

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