Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did not interrupt the Senator. It is deeply irresponsible of us to do that. The challenge we all collectively face now is to recruit three consultants into the area. How can we do this? We will not do it by destroying the image of the services and tearing up the work that has been done over the years. Last year, CAMHS delivered services to 14,400 young people. It is a vital service and it is vital we get it right and protect it. Of course things are going wrong, of course there are people not getting the services they seek or require, but that happens in every single discipline. We do not throw the baby out with the bath water. Let us have a degree of responsibility towards where we are going. The comments on the issue of the three resignations are not correct. Dr. Hillery has retired, not resigned. There is a very big difference. It is his entitlement to do so. I believe he is interested in running for a career in the job we do. He is entitled to do so, and I wish him every good luck with that. I have already referred to the recruitment of psychiatrists as being a challenge. As there is a worldwide shortage, we will have to look at the work they do and the standard procedures under which they operate in order that we make better use of their time. Online delivery of telepsychiatry offers consultants the opportunity to work from home, which suits an awful lot of consultant psychiatrists, who would be more than happy to do more work from home rather than having to travel an hour and a half from one location to another and an hour and a half back, which is three hours on the road in a given day. We need to look much better at how we do what we do.

Senator Swanick has a very good suggestion, to which I have heard him refer previously, about 24-hour access for GPs to be able to consult with consultant psychiatrists, who could give them advice on how to deal with patients presenting with psychosis and other such issues, which are very challenging for doctors trained as GPs. The Senator's suggestion is particularly good and has as much validity, if not more, today as when I heard it from him the last time.

Senator Freeman talked about the building in Wexford. I think I have dealt with the issue of responsibility towards the future. The Senator referred to the helpline. A 24-hour helpline is not what I have been talking about since I have had this job. I have been talking about introducing a single point of access for everyone who has a mental health issue or for a friend who wants to refer someone. That is the phone line to which I am referring. This can be done through text, online or by phone, but it is important we have one single point of access and that one is appropriately referred once one makes a call in order that I can ring this one number and say my friend is acting strangely or is very down and I will be told there is a Jigsaw or whatever other service in my area. We cannot all be wonderful experts on the services, whether ALONE, Aware, Pieta House, Jigsaw, CAMHS or whatever other service.

I have already spoken about the language of "collapsed" and "crisis" and "struggled with", and Senator Devine struggled with other words to describe the situation. I do not think that is helpful.

I have addressed the issue of redeployment from Galway. One can get consultants to come from other areas.

My final point concerns the percentage of the budget spent on mental health. Nothing irritates me more than this argument because the comparison is such a nonsense.We have a dysfunctional physical health and budgeting system. The suggestion that we should use that as the yardstick for our mental health budget is not helpful. We have a different budgetary structure from other countries. For example, all primary care mental health services come under the primary care budget and not the mental health services budget such that the provision of counselling in primary care for an adult or child is not accounted for in the mental health budget. It is unfair to manipulate statistics to make a point without addressing the significant issues.

I appreciate suggestions. They are always welcome and I thank those who make helpful suggestions. I am always open to them.