Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There were a lot of questions there. The HSE, the Government and I are fully committed to making sure the most appropriate supports are there for young people. I might put a little context on this, which does not always happen across the floor of the Dáil. A total of 21,000 children are currently receiving the supports of CAMHS. There were 225,000 appointments last year among 73 CAMHS teams working the length and the breadth of the country, but what was excluded from the report was the fact that the number of referrals to CAMHS increased by 33% over the past two years. Notwithstanding the difficulties the CAMHS teams have, they saw 21% more appointments - more children - last year. I am very conscious, every time we stand up in the Dáil and tear apart the mental health services, that €135 million was spent on CAMHS supports last year. There are 73 teams working today looking after 21,000 children. Notwithstanding the difficulties, a lot of really good supports are being provided to those 21,000 children.

The number of children in adult psychiatric units has fallen to 20 in the past year, and no consultant psychiatrist will ever take the opportunity to put a child into a psychiatric unit - we are talking about 16- or 17-year-olds - unless it is extremely necessary. I would like to talk to anyone who says putting a child into an adult psychiatric unit overnight for that child's safety so that he or she might not attempt suicide is not the right thing to do. What should we do instead, leave them out the door?

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