Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I am very sorry to hear about that gentleman and his experience. I am aware that Deputy Wallace raised the matter in the House previously. I doubt that any Deputy has not in some way been affected by suicide or does not know someone who has taken his or her own life. We all know the enormous grief this causes and the effect it has on families and friends. It is a grief that never dies; it goes on forever. As Deputy Wallace stated, this is an area in which there has been some progress in recent years. The number of people in Ireland taking their lives has decreased by 30% since 2012. Suicide rates in Ireland are now roughly at the EU norm. Statistics such as this mean nothing to anybody who has had suicide touch his or her life. I acknowledge that it does vary from place to place within the State, but I do not have that particular breakdown in front of me.

In the context of what it can do, the Government is committed to developing mental health services in the broadest sense, namely, for the health service and for education in the context of well-being and resilience, which are very important. The budget for mental health will approach €1 billion, which is very large and which is acknowledged by experts, such as Senator Freeman, as being more than is spent in many other similar countries. It provides an additional €55 million for the development of services in 2019. We need to make sure this money gets to the patients and to those who need it most.

There are 2,560 children on the CAMHS waiting list. The HSE is prioritising those who are waiting more than 12 months, which is some 295 children. All aspects of CAMHS will be improved as part of the service plan in 2019. This will include: better out of hours cover and 7-7 cover where possible; progression of day hospital care; development of specialist teams, for example for eating disorders; and improved prevention and early interventions. There are now 70 CAMHS teams and three paediatric liaison teams. The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, who is the lead Minster for this matter and on issues of mental health, will meet the HSE on 23 January to review progress on all aspects of CAMHS, including waiting lists. I will ask him to raise Wexford as a particular black spot when it comes to these matters. We now have 114 assistant psychologists hired and 20 psychologist recruited for the primary care services. These were recruited throughout the course of last year. We hope that the full year effect of them being employed now will make a difference in waiting times.

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