Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak, albeit briefly, in this extremely important debate. There are many areas from which one could approach this debate but there is only one I will raise. Following my colleague Deputy Higgins, I will speak to eating disorders, which predominantly affect women and young people. The average age for the onset of anorexia is 16 and for bulimia is 18. The Minister of State and I have corresponded on this topic many times and dealt with a number of harrowing cases. The cases we have spoken about highlight my concern in the area and a crucial factor.

We have spoken about the need for funding, which is absolutely correct, but additional funding is absolutely pointless if services are not joined and there is a lack of joined-up thinking when it comes to dealing with eating disorders in this country. There is a lack of joined-up thinking when it comes to geographic assessment and the fact that everything is set in urban areas. We are dealing with young people who need to be close to their parents, family support groups and the resources they need. Adding two or three hours of travel or a residential stay two or three hours from home will not help.

Additionally, people may be caught in the bind of being too young to be considered an adult but too old to be considered a child and they cannot get admission to a hospital, which they need. These are the types of cases presenting every day to all our offices, regardless of party. It is not just the individuals who are suffering because, most cruelly, parents are looking - usually at their daughter - wasting away in front of them. They are wasting away because they cannot get a bed or somebody on the other end of the phone.

We have spoken about the monetary allocation, which is welcome, and none of us will refuse to welcome that additional bed space, hours or funding. It will be all for nothing, however, if we lose yet another young person to death arising from an eating disorder. The numbers suffering from eating disorders increase every year, particularly since the onset of the pandemic. Sadly, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate among mental health illnesses.

In closing, my appeal is to make sure that between the HSE, primary care and all services, there is an actual genuine clarity, so when the distressed parent makes the call or the young person approaches the doctor, there is a rapid plan to get them the care they need as quickly as possible, because as soon as they get that care it gives them a much better chance of recovering and, more importantly, living.

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