Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

We did speak about this aspect last week. I explained to Deputy Clarke, and she took on board, that that amendment was ruled out of order not by me but by the Bills Office. It is important to state that good progress has been made over many years. Last year, for example, five young people aged 17 plus were admitted, with the consent of their parents, to adult psychiatric wards for a short time. We are in June now, and two young people have been admitted so far this year. No consultant psychiatrist in the multidisciplinary team wants to do that but I cannot tie the hands of a consultant psychiatrist in a unique situation in real time. I have said that, I will continue to say it and if it was included in the Bill, I would stand over saying it. It could be 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. when a young person who may be self-harming or suicidal is in front of a consultant psychiatrist. We must consider such a situation in a context where the consultant psychiatrist was not in a position to offer supports overnight, with the support of that young person's parents. It is important to make this point. I want us to get to a situation where zero young people have to be in those circumstances.

It is disappointing, however, that Deputy Clarke would align one of her first comments with a lack of funding. The mental health budget has increased by 44% over the past five years. When I took office in 2020, the mental health budget was €985 million, while this year it is €1.5 billion and I will do more again in next year's budget. We have built on supports and services across Ireland incrementally year on year. In 2008, there were 247 admissions of children to adult units and there have been two so far this year. Every effort is being made to prevent that happening, but when you have to choose life over death by admitting a young person to a hospital because nothing else is available other than a place in an adult psychiatric ward, in a room of their own and being monitored 24-7 for a short space of time, I will pick life any day of the week.

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