Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to be able to speak on this today. I believe in the phrase mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí, and I think that we are not doing that. I want to salute all of the organisations, including the youth clubs in Tipperary. My daughter, Councillor Máirín McGrath, is involved in setting up the club in Newcastle again, and Ballybreen. Then there is the Waterford and South Tipperary Community Youth Service, which comes into Tipperary as well. I salute them for the work they do, and the parents. We all have a role here.

There are too many issues closing down too many activities. Insurance is crippling. I have just met people from Celtic Bike & Quad Racing. Our group met them a few minutes ago. They cannot get insurance. They have young people who are interested in their sport. It is the same way with showjumping, horse racing, road racing and every kind of activity. The insurance is crippling these people and stopping them from going. We must do something about that, and not empty talk.

The child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, are non-existent in community health organisation, CHO, area 5 in Tipperary. There are vacancies, vacancies, vacancies. I have raised it here countless times. The Government tells us it is trying to recruit. That is no good. People who want help are falling through the cracks. Parents are desperately seeking help for their children who are suffering, and have no place to go in public or even private. It is just not good enough that those people are left to wallow there like that and not get the intervention that they need.

Then there is the whole area of the lack of gardaí. We have some great community gardaí in Clonmel, but they are not there any more. They are pulled off into other services, and I think we have set up too many specialist services within An Garda Síochána and have diminished the number of gardaí on the ground to deal with the people. You cannot beat it. Garda John Walsh, who is the community garda in our area, in Newcastle, Ardfinnan and Ballybacon-Grange, comes into the youth club, brings off the young people for a spin in the squad car. He shows them how to be friendly with gardaí and not to be afraid of them and that it is not the case of it being them and us.

We have young people in my parish and many other parishes who desperately need intervention. One young person has done a lot of damage and his mother has been on to me. She cannot get the therapies he needs to stop him from doing that and to do good rather than do harm. It is frightening. These are very young people. Then we have the young people who are acting as mules and carrying drugs around in the town of Clonmel and other areas. It is shocking. We need CAMHS. We need early intervention therapies to support these families.

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