Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)

The Minister of State said at the committee meeting this morning that she would follow up on the contribution from the IMO on this issue because she had not seen it all. I am unsure if she has had a chance to do so. It is an issue of real concern to parents, not just those of children who may be 16 to 18 years of age but parents of adults in their early 20s who suffer from eating disorders. It is of profound concern to those parents. The issue raised by the IMO this morning, and perhaps Deputy Rice could also speak to this, was that there is an issue here regarding policy - not legislation per se but policy. When a young person, perhaps after an incident of self-harm, presents to the accident and emergency department, if they are aged 17 they will be presenting to an adult accident and emergency department. Therefore, their physical injuries will be treated and, automatically, the adult mental health service will come in. We as a State need to ask ourselves whether the most appropriate place for a 17-year-old who is in profound need of mental health assistance is in a place where somebody in their 40s or 50s is being treated. The IMO raised a good point that it is also not appropriate for a child of that age to be in a facility with, for instance, a child of 12 years of age. It is a difficult issue and, as part of the five-year review, it will be worth coming back to. There is non-fatal offences legislation on the Statute Book but this is an issue on which we could and should spend considerably more time and put effort into treating this very small cohort. It is a very small age range, but any treatment a young person receives needs to be appropriate to what their needs are. The question is whether those needs are best served in a paediatric setting or an adult setting where other people receiving treatment are significantly older than they are.

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