Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Níl dabht ar bith ach go bhfuil gá le níos mó infheistíochta agus níos mó a dhéanamh ó thaobh CAMHS de mar go bhfuil páistí na tíre seo á ligean síos mar gheall ar an Rialtas atá againn agus an teip atá air ó thaobh meabhairshláinte agus an tacaíocht atá á fáil ag páistí ar fud an Stáit, go háirithe i mo chontae, áit a bhfuil go leor daoine ar liosta feithimh.

Children deserve better. They deserve better mental health services than they are getting under this Government. The sad reality for so many children and parents across the State is that they are waiting far too long to access mental health services in this country. Early intervention is key and a deterioration in a child's mental state often occurs when he or she is waiting to access services. Across the State the CAMHS waiting lists for first appointments have almost doubled in the space of a year, with nearly 4,000 children and young people waiting to be seen as of August 2023. In my own area of CHO 1, which includes Donegal, 294 children and young people are languishing on waiting lists and over half of them have been waiting more than three months. It is a postcode lottery for these children. Children and parents are anxiously and desperately waiting for the support they need. Many who have dual diagnoses of mental ill health and intellectual disability continue to fall through the cracks. These children and young people are the most vulnerable in our communities but they are being failed over and over again.

Parents have spoken about meeting the Minister of State. They said she was shocked but nothing has changed. It was July when they met her and now it is February. In Donegal, one of the CAMHS teams has no psychologist, social worker or occupational therapist but that is no longer unique or shocking. It is the norm in terms of what parents and children have to put up with, day in and day out. Parents are looking at their child who is anxious, depressed and suicidal and who is waiting, in some cases, for a full year to get a first appointment. It is an indictment of this Government that it is letting down the most vulnerable in society. This cannot continue for young people and their parents in my county and throughout the State.

The legislation that my colleague, Deputy Ward, has brought before the Dáil would provide for the regulation of children's mental health services, which was the first recommendation of the Mental Health Commission's report on CAMHS. The Bill proposes to give the commission the statutory powers it needs to implement the remaining recommendations. The legislation before us would help to improve services and tackle waiting times for children, young people and their families. It is a first step in ensuring that children in Donegal and elsewhere can access the mental health services they need and deserve. It is appalling that the Government is planning to pause this. If it was not so serious, it would be laughable because for most of these families, their life is on pause. That means another nine months waiting for an appointment or a follow-up.

The Government today is planning to pause the implementation of this legislation, which was the first recommendation made by the Mental Health Commission.

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