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

It is important to state that medicines - antidepressants, anxiolytics and anti-psychotics - have a role to play in the treatment of mental illness. I know the Deputy is not disputing that and does not disagree with it. When these medicines are prescribed, it is by general practitioners or psychiatrists. I am sure that in the vast majority of cases when these medicines are prescribed, this is the appropriate course of action. I also acknowledge the Deputy's point to the effect that it is much easier for a doctor to prescribe medicine that a patient can get within hours than it is to get counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy or talk therapy for him or her. The doctor can sign the prescription, give it to the patient and the patient can be in the pharmacy within the hour and have his or her medicine. It takes much longer for patients to get access to other treatments such as behavioural therapies and counselling and all those things that we know also have an effect. The Deputy makes a fair point.

The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, is here and he has informed me that he is going to meet the CAMHS teams' management and clinical leads next Wednesday, as well as senior HSE management. Deputy Wallace is aware there is €55 million available to make meaningful improvements in mental health in the year ahead. The challenge the Government always faces is to ensure that money gets to the patients. If it works, we should see more people getting access to those therapies more quickly and, perhaps as a result of that, a fall in the number of prescriptions and in medication costs.

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