Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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2669. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 479 of 1 October 2024, if she will clarify the contradiction between the reply with Parliamentary Question No. 1358 of 5 February 2025, which both confirmed that an application for a Jigsaw Youth Mental Health service had been submitted to the HSE in 2022 and resubmitted in 2023, and the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 410 of 19 June 2025, which stated that no such application had been received in the past five years; if she will confirm which of these responses is accurate; and if she will provide an explanation for the contradiction. [41304/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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2670. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 410 of 19 June 2025, in light of the apparent contraction in the HSE response, if she will detail all applications made in the past five years with respect to the establishment of a Jigsaw youth mental health service in Waterford, by the date of the application, by whom it was made, how it was received, the consideration given to the application, the outcome, date of decision and the rationale for that decision, in tabular form. [41305/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As detailed in the HSE response of 8 July last to the Deputy, the HSE regularly meets with Jigsaw as part of their Service Level Agreement arrangement, where all relevant matters including any potential expansion of services are discussed. The HSE National Child and Youth Mental Health Office advised in July last that it had received no business cases or applications to establish a Jigsaw youth mental health service in Waterford over the past five years. As the HSE also indicated, Jigsaw submitted a Business Case to me in May 2025 to establish such a new service.

Improving access to a range of youth mental health services remains a priority for me, for the Department of Health, and for the HSE. I received a formal proposal from Jigsaw in May 2025 to establish a youth mental health service for Waterford and the South East. In addition, I invited around that time proposals from other relevant organisations nationally that might be interested in developing youth mental health services.

Work to secure a suitable premises for the proposed new service in Waterford has begun with the Chief Executive of Waterford City and County Council and I also discussed the need for the service with the local HSE Integrated Health Area Manager.

I am evaluating all of the options available to me, as Minister, on how best to enhance youth mental health care in Waterford and other areas of the country where this is required. I intend to secure funding for such new service developments under the on-going 2026 Estimates process. I am determined that young people in Waterford and the South East have improved access to youth mental health care overall and I will work with my Department and the HSE over coming months to achieve this.

In the context of the above, there is no contradiction of the nature suggested by the Deputy. I have referred this PQ to the HSE in relation to the detailed information sought on any proposals made at local HSE level.