Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)

I echo Deputy Clarke's points. The Minister of State said last week that it was important not to tie the hands of psychiatrists in this regard because they often have to make very difficult decisions at critical times and may not have a bed available in a CAMHS inpatient unit. This is a valid concern for a psychiatrist in that particular context. What we are doing here, however, is legislating for the continued under-resourcing of essential CAMHS inpatient beds. If we go ahead with this, we will be reinforcing a situation where we will be just accepting young people can be admitted inappropriately into adult placements. The very reason we are undertaking this legislation in the first place is to strengthen the rights of service users, including children. It would be very regrettable if this provision were to be included.

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