Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious that quite a number of Deputies raised CAMHS and also CDNTs. I do not information broken down to local or county level. CAMHS receives dedicated funding of approximately €146 million annually, and €110 million of that has been provided to community-based mental health organisations and NGOs this year. A further €10 million was announced in January for mental health, including the clinical programmes and youth mental health. In collaboration with local CAMHS services, a waiting list initiative specifically focused on children and young people who have waited longer than nine months is under way in six areas. The HSE is also receiving funding under the Sláintecare integration and innovation fund to progress a multiphase quality improvement project to manage CAMHS waiting lists. For the first time in the history of the State, we now have a dedicated national office for youth mental health which will provide leadership, operational oversight and management of all service provision and improvements. Both a new HSE national clinical lead for youth mental health and a new assistant national director for child and youth mental health recently took up their posts. Immediate priorities are to improve access to CAMHS and reduce waiting lists.

On CAMHS and therapists, a matter that Deputy Dillon raised specifically, our understanding is that private sector capacity does exist but it is quite limited. Community healthcare organisations can use private sector therapists for those waiting the longest, ensuring they are prioritised.

I acknowledge the difficulty in meeting the demand for children's disability services. We are very much aware of how this impacts on children and their families. The progressing disability services, PDS, roadmap for service improvement was launched last year. This is a targeted service improvement programme to achieve quality, accessible, equitable and timely services for children with complex needs.

On recruitment and retention, in January, the HSE, working with lead agencies, launched a high-profile recruitment campaign for dieticians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers and speech and language therapists. The campaign recently closed and approximately 495 applications were received. Interviews are due to begin in the coming months. Other initiatives include student sponsorship programmes, therapy assistants to help professionals in providing services, and also marketing CDNTs as a workplace of choice and a good place to work.

I again acknowledge Deputies O'Sullivan and McAuliffe for raising issues around rare diseases and orphan medicines. I am not familiar with the particular medicine relating to EB, but I will look into the matter and come back to the Deputies directly.

As Deputy Boyd Barrett said, housekeepers and cleaners do essential work in our hospitals, especially in the context of infection control. I am not familiar with the issue of the appeal on the job specification. If the Deputy passes on some more information to me, I will make sure he gets a proper reply. I am advised that the average business or average community service pays less than €5,000 per year for insurance, but that varies from business to business, from service to service and from risk to risk. It can depend on the different circumstances that may arise.

On the important issue Deputy Ó Murchú raised, I am glad that the decision to restrict some of the services and payments was reversed quickly, certainly once the political system became aware of it. However, I will pass on what he said to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. The idea is to standardise what is provided. Standardisation is good, but it has to be done correctly. All of us in the House would take the view that if we are standardising such a provision, it should be standardised upwards and not to the average of whatever is provided.

Deputy Barry raised the really important issue of eating disorders, which are far too common and for which the services are far too sparse. From what he said, the four demands seem reasonable. It is easier said than done though, as is often the case, especially given the labour shortages we face. However, I will certainly take them up with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to see whether we can respond to them as soon as possible.

See this speech in context