Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for being here. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was keen to be here but she had a prior commitment and I appreciate that the Minister of State is here on her behalf.

The issue I raise relates to Jigsaw and my disappointment at the fact that we did not get a Jigsaw service for Newbridge and surrounding areas in the budget announced last week. I will prove the need for it. I will also refer to the fact that, having raised this matter several times in this House and in the Dáil, there was certainly a view that Newbridge was going to be next on the list.

Jigsaw provides a really good service. I know it is currently in 12 different areas around Ireland and will be in two more. I am delighted that the young people of Waterford and Clare are going to have the opportunity to have this service but I want to highlight why it is needed in Newbridge and why I am so disappointed that, yet again, we have been left out. I have raised this several times here and have had a number of Commencement matters in relation to it. I also have a report from the children and young people's services committee, CYPSC, and Ms Emma Berney, who does an incredible job as co-ordinator of the CYPSC programme in Kildare. From some of the stats she has put together in her most recent report, we know from the census of 2022 that Kildare has the highest number of young people aged under 24 years in the State, representing 36.6% of our total population. It is understandable that if we have the highest population of young people, we are going to have one of the highest rates of issues with regard to the need for intervention for young people.

The number of under-25s in Kildare is actually higher than the total population of each of the following counties: Offaly, Cavan, Sligo, Roscommon, Monaghan, Carlow, Longford and Leitrim. It is evident that the profile of the county's population has not yet peaked and there is going to be an increased demand for young people's services over the next decade. That scale of need is not reflected in current national resource allocation. In 2020, the number of young people admitted to a psychiatric unit or a child or adolescent unit was far higher than the State rate of 14.4%. It was the seventh highest admittance rate in Ireland. The waiting list for CAMHS has doubled over the past number of years. In 2021, there was a total of 24 suicides across all ages. I really do not like bringing negative stats into it but only four areas were higher. It exceeded the national average for all years from 2011. The number of cases of young people treated for cocaine in Kildare increased by 125% between 2019 and 2021.

I brought Jigsaw to Newbridge and we looked at possible places. I genuinely felt that, once extra funding was put into this, Newbridge would get that but, sadly, it has not.I am asking the Minister and the Department to assess feasibility and the community need. We all know the Jigsaw hub would not only support mental health but also foster resilience, inclusion and long-term well-being in our county. It has to be a priority going forward.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Mary Butler. Improving access to a range of youth mental health services nationally remains a priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, the Department of Health, and the HSE.

In the broader context, the total allocation for mental health services in 2026 is nearly €1.6 billion and it is the sixth year in a row in which the mental health budget has been increased. Specifically in relation to youth mental health, this year’s budget provided funding for new early intervention youth mental health services, funding to support a digital single point of access for youth mental health services, an additional specialist CAMHS eating disorders team, two new mental health intellectual disability teams for children and five new mental health discovery colleges for young people. As occurs each year following the budget, discussions will now take place with the HSE on details relating to specific service initiatives in the context of preparing the 2026 HSE service plan, including that for mental health.

Jigsaw already receives significant funding of over €14 million from the HSE under a service-level agreement to provide youth mental health services for those with mild-to-moderate mental health difficulties. This service-level agreement is managed by the HSE at national level. Under budget 2026, Jigsaw has been allocated an additional €1.3 million to support the development of new services, including a service for the south east, based in Waterford city, with outreach into south Kilkenny, south Wexford and west Waterford, and an extension of the service in Limerick into County Clare. No new physical Jigsaw locations have been funded since 2020 when the organisation pivoted to develop a suite of new digital services during, and in the aftermath of, the pandemic. These digital services are available to all young people in Ireland, no matter where they are based, directly from jigsaw.ie. Jigsaw has since focused on the delivery of its existing services, including the adoption of a new single-session-first clinical model which has proven to be effective at achieving very positive mental health outcomes for young people while reducing waiting times.

Over the past year, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has been examining the different options to expand access to early intervention youth mental health services, including inviting proposals from Mental Health Ireland, the organisation behind the Mindspace Mayo service. The Minister of State is aware of the significant efforts by the Senator to establish a service for the young people of Kildare and will work with representatives from all areas to deliver full national coverage for early intervention youth mental health services.

I note the specific ask by Senator O'Loughlin regarding Kildare and Newbridge. I will highlight this to the Minister of State and the Department. I know the Senator has had detailed discussions with the Minister of State and I expect those will continue.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge that I spoke to the Minister's adviser yesterday. I am not at all happy with that response. I went through the statistics earlier. County Kildare has the highest rate of youth suicide in Leinster. That has to stand for something. I always try to be positive about my town and my county because I believe in being positive. I do not believe in being negative. but I am so disappointed by this response and the budget allocation. I accept that no new physical location has been put in place since 2020. I talked to Jigsaw and the HSE and I had discussions with the previous Minister of State with responsibility for mental health. I was told that after Wicklow and Tipperary, Newbridge was next in terms of need. Initially, when I saw two new centres were to be opened, without knowing where they were, I assumed and wrote to the Minister of State on the basis that one of them would be in Newbridge. It is not good enough to say that the services are online. I agree that it is better than nothing and it is good to have a cohort online, but young people who have a huge sense of helplessness need to have face-to-face and one-to-one contact. I again make the appeal that Newbridge be considered in the next round.

Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Before the Minister of State responds, I welcome the Old Belvedere Rugby Football Club men's shed to the Public Gallery. Before I became a politician, the best grilling I got and the best preparation for debate was with the Loughrea men's shed in County Galway. I sat in with them a few times and they prepared me for life in politics very well, I welcome you all to the Gallery today and fair play to you for coming up.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I too welcome the members of the men's shed. I have no doubt there are some great rugby players in the group. They are welcome to Leinster House and the beautiful Seanad Chamber.

Several factors need to be considered in the development of a new services location for services like Jigsaw. A proposal for a new location requires a detailed business case, premises, support from the regional HSE management and necessary funding to resource the staffing of the service. Any proposal also requires agreement from the HSE national child and youth mental health office in the context of agreeing new service priorities under the annual Estimates process and the development of the HSE national service plan for the next year. The Minister of State is very aware of the significant efforts by Senator O'Loughlin to secure a Jigsaw service for Kildare, including trying to secure a premises and arrange for representatives from Jigsaw to evaluate its suitability. The Minister of State is determined to ensure we have full and appropriate national coverage, so that no matter where a person lives in Ireland, they will receive face-to-face support from a physical area intervention service. It must be stressed that Jigsaw's online digital services are available to all young people in Ireland, at jigsaw.ie, no matter where they are located. Senator O'Loughlin can rest assured that the Minister of State will continue to work with her, the Department of Health and the HSE to ensure that young people in Kildare and every county in Ireland have easy access to intervention and care in the near future.

I will bring the issues Senator O'Loughlin has raised to the attention of the Minister of State. I have no doubt she will continue to work with the Senator regarding Jigsaw services in Kildare in general and more specifically in Newbridge.