Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To conclude, I do not have a medical background myself but one thing I have learned from speaking to clinicians is that 40% of young people who are in CAMHS have ADHD. Their condition can be dealt with very well with medication. Once they get that diagnosis and they are put on the correct medication in the correct dosage, they can do extremely well. The situation we had was that when they turned 18 there were no follow-on supports but we are rectifying that. I take on board the point the Senator has made about the 17 to 18 year old cohort for whom it can be very difficult but as I understand it, a lot of them may be eligible under the medical card scheme. I will certainly consider this further, specifically in relation to ADHD. We have made great progress in the last few years on the clinical programme. We now have a model of care for ADHD that we did not have previously. We need to support the 16 to 18 year olds. I would hate to think that any person who needed medication but could not afford it would be left without it. I thank the Senator for raising a really important issue.