Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply, but I am very sceptical of his claims. It is more spin. The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Daly, told the media at a press conference yesterday that CAMHS waiting lists have been impressively reduced by 20%. The latest data we have, which were published in The Irish Timeson Monday, 9 September, indicate that more than 2,500 children and teenagers were on mental health service waiting lists. The HSE figures for June 2019 and July 2017 are almost identical, at 2,440. Some 267 children, many of them in County Cork, have been waiting for more than a year, an 11% increase. Who is telling the truth on this matter? How do we get to a point such that the Government will invest sufficiently?

The Tánaiste referred to the recruitment of 114 assistant psychologists. I have been told that some of them have already left their posts. I made that point at a recent meeting of the Committee on Health. The last person to leave cancelled 300 appointments. The Tánaiste is not telling the truth.

Sinn Féin, working with Mental Health Reform, managed to clarify that only €15 million of additional money was spent in 2017. The €20 million that was left over was re-announced in 2017, when an increase of €35 million was again touted. In 2018, funding of €55 million was announced, but we know that the real figure was only €30 million. We have constantly tried to highlight that the Government is sloughing this over. The Mental Health Commission stated that it met the Minister and it was confirmed that €26 million of the €39 million is earmarked for pay increases. The Tánaiste referred to an additional €13 million for services but that will be spent on Portrane. There is nothing new. Is there new money for mental health services or are we just wasting our time?

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