Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion and support it. I welcome the Minister of State's response because there is a tacit acknowledgement of the challenge that faces all of us in respect of the provision of services through CAMHS. I think everybody accepts the report of the Mental Health Commission and the recommendations therein. I am particularly taken by the part of the Minister of State's speech where she refers to CAMHS teams. She said:

CAMHS teams receive and triage nearly 21,000 referrals annually and deliver 225,000 appointments for children and young people requiring assessment and intervention each year. Between 2020 and 2021, CAMH services have experienced a 33% increase in demand, while concurrently increasing their activity levels, seeing 21% more cases during the same period.

They are extraordinary figures when you think about it. They present a picture of the enormity of the challenge that faces all of us in respect of ensuring that, where somebody needs access to a service in an acute setting or on an acute basis, they have that pathway within that 24 to 48 hour period. When there is a threat to life, there are so many pathways to save a life in conventional medicine. If there is a road traffic accident, the ambulance is called, you go to the nearest trauma centre and the resources are there to save life and limb straight away. When it comes to mental health, it is just not there. It is not guaranteed to the same extent.

I have sympathy for the position in which the Ministers of State find themselves. If I was Sinn Féin I would not be making promises or guaranteeing being able to fix this because it will be a long, slow road. However, the Mental Health Commission's report is very clear in respect of the regulation of CAMHS. This has always been a key point for us. There is an inconsistency in the service depending on where people live in the country. I live in CHO 4. The figures for CHO 4, which is the Cork and Kerry region, are frightening. I raised this in a parliamentary question to the Minister for Health and got my reply on 25 January. I asked for the number of persons waiting to be seen by child and adolescent mental health services by CHO and LHO and the length of time they were waiting. There are 857 people waiting in total in the Cork and Kerry region. That is too many people. There are 296 waiting over a year in the Cork and Kerry region. This is from 25 January so that is the most up-to-date figure there is.

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