Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I repeat that there are 3,900 young people on waiting lists, which is up by 40% on last year. Covid-19 has had an impact on the mental health of many young people and adults over the past two years. To see the HSE cutting beds rather than maintaining them is completely incredible.

The Taoiseach said the HSE has been looking to bring in teams from other areas. The issue that arises is that where any child is brought to an adult care facility, it will be breaking their human rights. They should be cared for within CAMHS. It is not good enough for the Taoiseach to stand up and say what he has just said there. This should have been well planned for. The Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people launched the implementation of the Sharing the Vision policy and it should have been well flagged if there was a problem. It should have been addressed a long time ago if we were having staffing problems in the area six or eight months ago. This happened in 2017 and it has to be resolved immediately.

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