Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this profoundly serious issue. I have read the executive summary of the report - the preliminary section of it. It is shocking and very serious. What happened is unacceptable. It represents a damning indictment of the service. The first principle of medicine is to do no harm. Children were harmed here by a complete failure of clinical performance and oversight and by the entire management of the service. As the Deputy has outlined, the treatment of 227 children was deemed risky by the report, which does not pull any punches to be fair to the consultant, Dr. Seán Maskey, who came over from the UK. The report says that 46 children were harmed significantly. It goes through what is meant by harm. Some children gained a lot of weight. Some were sleepy during the day, had raised blood pressure or produced breast milk. These were the results of overprescribing and a lack of oversight.

It demands a fundamental review, not just of south Kerry but of the overall situation pertaining to child and adolescent mental health. To be frank, it is not a resources issue. The resources are there to make appointments. It seems there have been ongoing difficulties over the years in recruiting senior clinicians in psychiatry to these posts in certain parts of the country and especially in CAMHS. Following the publication of the report, the HSE has apologised and communicated with all the parents involved. My understanding is that there has been an extensive look-back over 1,300 files. I outlined the outcome in that regard. It is important to say that it is not the parents’ fault, because many are feeling guilty. I watched one parent last evening on the "Six One News" say that she was taking on some of the guilt herself regarding what had happened. It is not the parents’ fault, though, because they will go by what is indicated or advised by the treating clinician.

Following the publication of the report, there will be a full audit nationwide of compliance with CAMHS operational guidelines by all CAMHS teams. In addition, a prescribing audit will be conducted in each of the 72 CAMHS teams. It will include a random selection of files proportional to the medical caseload from a continuous six-month predefined period in 2021. I have been in discussions with the Minister of State with special responsibility for mental health, Deputy Butler, in the last 24 hours with a view to seeing what more needs to be done. I have an open mind concerning how we pursue this issue further.

See this speech in context