Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will ask questions but the answers may be given in writing.

Today, I want to start by wishing a very special young boy named Gavin from County Wexford a happy 18th birthday. I hope that he, his dad, two brothers and sister have a lovely celebration, not just because it is his 18 birthday but because he almost did not make it as he has mental health problems. I congratulate his dad and family, who have assisted Gavin in every way possible for the last number of years. I must mention the staff in the child and adolescent mental health service, CAMHS, in Arden House in Wexford, who have been Gavin's saving grace.

I want to inform the Minister of State, however, that as Gavin turns 18 today, he moves from the CAMHS to the adult mental health service. It is daunting and it is unclear for him and his family what that involves. I will be there to help, however. I hope the Minister of State will also assist in that transition to ensure he gets the help he requires to see his 80th birthday, because it was not there for him as a minor in the way it should have been.

The staff in CAMHS in Arden House, Wexford have been fantastic but they are under pressure. They are understaffed with no child psychologist and no dietitian. According to a Mental Health Reform document received yesterday by every Deputy in this House, the country has 2,000 children on mental health waiting lists. Many of them are in County Wexford. I have asked continually, every time I stand on the floor of this House, for this to be resolved. We need to provide a full staffing team for CAMHS in County Wexford with added availability for an out-of-hours service. It is a matter of life or death.

Worryingly, as I said, yesterday I received an update from Mental Health Reform and what it contains is frightening. The report says the HSE has seen an increase of 490%; that is more than 800,000 people contacting the mental health website. That is one in six people in this country, and yet only 6% of our health budget goes towards mental health services. There is no vaccine for mental health. There are, however, many voluntary organisations, which are critical to the care and management of mental health sufferers, that are now devoid of funding because of Covid-19.

Will the Minister of State update us on the staffing of CAMHS at Arden House? What is the Government's proposal to assist the many voluntary organisations with funding? Will the Minister of State be able to tell me when public health nurses in the mental health sector will be vaccinated? That can be provided in writing. I thank the Minister of State.

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