Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have to raise the case of a Longford family in the midst of the deepest, darkest crisis at the moment. Over the last number of months their 16-year-old son Jacob has subjected his parents to unrelenting violence. He has wrecked the family home, wrecked the family car and in recent weeks his three siblings have been dispatched to relatives and friends for their own personal safety. I personally saw him attack his father at the weekend. His mother rang CAMHS again on Friday only to be told that this is not a mental health issue but a behavioural issue and there was nothing they could do but refer him back to the children's disability network team. Without question, this young boy needs a period of residential care to assess what is triggering these outbursts and how best to equip the family for dealing with them. I sat in the family home on Saturday morning. I saw that the television was smashed, I saw no photos on the walls, they were smashed, I saw holes in the walls, I saw doors kicked in. As a matter of urgency, Taoiseach, can you direct CAMHS, the HSE and officials to liaise with the family and ensure that young Jacob is referred for residential assessment and care?

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