Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend the motion and the work of Deputy Ward, who has been an excellent advocate in terms of the issues around mental health. I echo his point that a 12% increase over the lifetime of the Government is quite ambitious. Sinn Féin's policies and this motion in terms of tackling some of these issues are also ambitious.

The report in regard to what was happening in south Kerry is deeply alarming. It is very worrying. It is the stuff of nightmares for parents. The testimonies given by some of the parents were shocking. Much of this is focused on a particular individual, but other individuals may be culpable, depending on the findings. This is a systems issue. There is no way a junior doctor should be responsible for that level of work or have that level of responsibility without adequate oversight. That is simply not good enough. This was allowed to drag on for years. The whistleblower was not treated properly and was not listened to adequately at the point of which the concerns were raised.

It is important the CAMHS review happens swiftly, that it happens across the country and that it takes a very broad view. We all wonder whether there could be similar issues in other parts of the country. In general, there is a feeling out there that our mental health services are inadequate. In my own constituency, there are 258 people waiting for CAMHS appointments, 104 of whom have been waiting more than six months, with 14 young people waiting over a year. That is the situation without even addressing whether the care they are getting is adequate. There could be issues around postponed appointments, whether people are getting adequate attention and whether they are getting adequate support from in terms of psychology and psychiatry because both are needed. Very often that is not the case. Sometimes, this is not the fault of individual consultants, therapists or whatever; it because the system is completely overstretched. These issues are growing and there is increasing concern in regard to this area. There is an urgent need to completely transform how we deal with mental health services in this State.

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