John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Almost six in ten people who responded to the recent Central Statistics Office Social Impact of Covid-19 survey believe Covid-19 has impacted negatively on their mental health and well-being. In the 18 to 34 age group, one in five reported being downhearted or depressed all or most of the time.

In Wicklow, service providers tell me the greatest increase in demand for mental health services is for those in the 12 to 14 age bracket. These increases are set against excessive pre-pandemic waiting lists for care. As a result, we have moved from a crisis in mental health to an emergency, with many workers saying there is a tsunami coming at them. In Wicklow, the waiting time for children to access child and adolescent mental health services is now 12 months. Service providers I have spoken to say they are under so much pressure that mental health workers are being forced almost to triage patients as they would following a major incident. In some instances, they are unable to accept children or young people unless they are very serious cases. Even then, they are forced to pass the children on to other child health services that are not equipped to deal with the severity of the problems. In turn, those services refer the children back to the GPs and the merry-go-round can recommence.

Some young people are turning to alcohol and smoking weed and other illegal drugs as they think this is the solution. This is adding to the issue of dual diagnosis, which is another major issue and failing within the system. Mental health services simply cannot manage the numbers of children and young people who need services now, rather than in 12 months' time. Some teenagers are facing an even worse scenario. I am aware of situations where, due to the waiting lists, children aged 17 years have been denied appointments because, by the time they get an appointment, they will have become adults. Yet, at 17 years, they are too young to be placed on an adult waiting list and are simply left with no supports. We are in a mental health emergency. We need action now rather than before this situation spirals further out of control.

See this speech in context