Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the proposals she has made to the Department of Health in terms of enhancing mental health services for adolescents and young persons in view of the fact that 16 and 17 year olds, for example, cannot be seen by child psychiatric services and the ban on the admission of adolescents into adult wards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15174/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Child and adolescent mental health services are the direct responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Health, in conjunction with the Minister of State with Responsibility for Disability, Equality, Mental Health and Older People. I work very closely with both Ministers, as I do with all Government colleagues, in relation to children's matters. Nevertheless, as stated, specific responsibility in relation to child and adolescent mental health services resides with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive. I am aware that €35m extra funding has been made available for mental health and that child and adolescent mental health services are a priority area for investment.

Key to the development of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services is the establishment of multidisciplinary community based teams, of which 61 are currently in place. Special funding allocated to the HSE in 2012 will in part be used to strengthen these Community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Teams by ensuring, at a minimum, that at least one of each mental health professional discipline is represented on every team.

In the context of the establishment of the Child and Family Support Agency consideration has been given to the interface with specialist health services to improve the experience of children and families. In this regard, the Task Force on the Child and Family Support Agency recently met with the HSE's Assistant National Director for Mental Health and the National Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services Advisor.

Finally, my Department is developing a National Children and Young People's Policy Framework in association with other Government Departments. This Framework will be published this year and will cover a five year period. It will address the issue of priorities across children's services and the need for linkage to ensure services are delivered in a joined-up fashion.