Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Senator Devine's colleague in the same constituency, I am all too familiar with the issues she raises. The work done by staff in the child and adolescent mental health services is challenged daily by the shortage of professionals in the service.

On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, I thank the Senator for raising this matter. It is the policy of the HSE, as reflected in its annual service plan, to provide an age appropriate mental health service for those under the age of 18. I reiterate the Government’s commitment, in view of the significant additional funding given over recent years, to the development of all aspects of mental health, including that relating to young people. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, will continue to make the case for further resources annually, in line with evolving demands and in accordance with A Programme for a Partnership Government commitments.

The HSE's National Service Plan 2018 also commits to further developing our child and adolescent services through CAMHS. This is against a background of demand for CAMHS increasing by 26% between 2012 and 2017. Various initiatives on youth mental health other than the specialist CAMHS are also being progressed. We have 69 CAMHS teams and three paediatric liaison teams supported by 75 CAMHS beds nationally. Further beds are planned to come on stream as quickly as possible. Some 18,500 CAMHS referrals are expected in 2018, with 14,500 young people set to be seen by this specialist service. It should be noted that this figure of 14,500 is up from 8,600 in 2011. On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, I pay tribute to the staff of mental health teams for the work they do daily in dealing with this rapid increase in demand for their services. Cases assessed by professionals as being urgent are seen as a matter of priority.

The Government has funded an extra 130 psychiatric nurse undergraduate places each year to help improve the planning and delivery of services over the next few years. A key difficulty being addressed by the HSE is the issue of staff recruitment and retention, particularly in CAMHS. The recent appointment by the HSE of 114 assistant psychologists and 20 psychologists will help to develop counselling services in primary care. It is anticipated that these posts will deal with the less complex child and adolescent cases, thereby reducing the demand on CAMHS.

In addition, the Minister of State, Deputy Daly recently approved ten new posts for advance nurse practitioners, ANP, who will be specifically directed to the CAMHS service nationally. These new ANPs will play a key role in delivering better service co-ordination where local service pressures are greatest.

The HSE's Linn Dara CAMHS service covers County Kildare, west Wicklow and south Dublin, reflecting a total population of some 420,000. There are seven multi-disciplinary community CAMHS teams for these areas. The HSE has confirmed that there is a psychologist on each CAMHS team and the current vacancy in psychology, in this instance, is due to a temporary absence and will be filled as soon as possible.

The HSE has a statutory responsibility to ensure that safe, adequate and sufficient services are provided by all areas of CAMHS. The Linn Dara inpatient unit remains fully operational as normal, with 22 beds available as well as functioning community teams. I assure the Senator that the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, will keep the matter under close review and that all efforts will continue to be made by the HSE to address the ongoing needs of Linn Dara to a maximise its services.