Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Statistics provided to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs in 2019 showed that one third of young people were struggling with mental health issues on an ongoing basis. My constituency of Dublin North-West is an area that reflects the dysfunction in the provision of mental health services, with a lack of proper resourcing and severe underfunding. Since 2019, when it was clear there was a crisis in youth mental health, there has been very little improvement in the provision of such services for young people. In fact, the situation has become worse for them.

Measures taken during the Covid pandemic, including lockdowns, have impacted greatly on young people. The extended periods of social isolation have taken a toll on their mental health. Such measures have caused a significant rise in anxiety, depression, social ideation and self-harming. The psychological change in adolescence means adolescents are more susceptible to mental disorder than at other times in their lives. Mental health disorders peak during adolescence and young adulthood and are a leading cause of disability in that age group.

This is why early intervention is so important. For that to happen, a number of issues must be resolved. Accessing CAMHS is a big problem. The time taken to do so can vary greatly and often depends on where people live. The kinds of treatments available to children can also vary depending on location. Vulnerable children such as Traveller children or those in care have even greater difficulties accessing CAMHS. These problems are also compounded by staffing issues. Many CAMHS teams cannot hire the staff they need. The problem is particularly acute in hiring for specialist roles, particularly psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers. CAMHS also needs to co-ordinate better with other services. The failure to do so is causing difficulties for children who need to access additional services.

If young people access mental health supports early, they are less likely to continue to experience mental health issues into adulthood. However, mental health services as they stand are failing children and those failures have ongoing consequences. They mean these children may never reach their full potential in life. They might negatively impact on their future employment. We cannot allow these children to become a lost generation. They deserve to be able to lead full and productive lives. The problems with CAMHS must be urgently addressed. Young people in need of mental health services must be able to access all the services they need and do so without delay. If the Government is serious about resolving these problems, why did it vote down my party's Bill on mental health?

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