Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The level of anger around the country about the phone pouch scheme is quite shocking. The Minister, Deputy Foley, mentioned principals to whom she has spoken who praised the initiative. I have heard nobody anywhere praising it. I have spoken to several principals and teachers and they are all saying the same, namely, that they need money for summer works schemes, special needs assistants and to ensure they have adequate classroom spaces to be able to teach children. In some schools, special classes are being taken in corridors.

There is an effort to dress this scheme up as some kind of mental health initiative. The problem for parents whose child has a mental health problem, including depression or self-harming, is that they cannot access assessments through the Department and they cannot get assistance when they need it. I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, focused on CAMHS in his speech. For the vast majority of people, their experience of CAMHS is atrocious. They simply cannot get help. This has been going on not just for the past six months but for the past six years. It is an ongoing problem. All the CAMHS units around the country have approximately half the capacity they need. They do not have the nursing staff, psychologists or any of the other staff they need to carry out their functions adequately and proportionately. Children come to the service and are seen by one person. The next time they present, they see a different person, and another person again on the next occasion. The one point everyone in mental health makes is that patients need consistency, regularity and a sense of routine. That routine simply is not there in the vast majority of cases.

The Minister of State spoke about the investment there has been and said the situation has improved. However, the experience of the vast majority of people around the country is that things have not improved when it comes to mental health services. Likewise, there certainly has not been an improvement in provision within our education system across the length and breadth of the country. To the vast majority of people, including teachers and mental health professionals, providing children with a pouch in which to put their mobile phone, at a cost of €9 million, is an absolute waste of money. That money would be better spent on something that would actually deliver for our children.

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