Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister knows and I know that the suicide rate in Ireland is probably one of the highest in Europe. I have parents coming to my office regularly. They go to CAMHS and everybody is trying to help, but they are not getting the help. What happens, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, is that parents end up taking their children to accident and emergency departments. If the child is 16 years of age, he or she is put into an acute ward. Then, all of a sudden, the child is in limbo. People automatically think that if they contact a Deputy, a Senator or someone else involved in politics, that person will be able to help. We cannot help. The amount of money being spent in the HSE at the moment is unreal. What do we tell parents who come in to us and whose children are self-harming, with suicidal thoughts and everything else? Where do they go? They go to CAMHS and, especially if they have some kind of disability, they have nowhere else to go. They come in to us looking for a bit of help. We come here to ask the Department for help. This has been going on for a long time. We have been told that even some accident and emergency departments are supposed to have special services for people under the age of 18 who do present as suicidal. It is not happening. What system can the Minister put in place that will help parents who come in to us in order that we can comfort them and tell them the system will work? It is not working.

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