Mentally ill children suffering from long-term Govt under funding – Neville

Fine Gael Deputy Health Spokesperson, Dan Neville TD, has said that the dismal response of the current Government to severely sub-standard child and adolescent psychiatric services, despite its unprecedented wealth, amounted to wholesale neglect. Deputy Neville added that unacceptably long waiting lists and the lack of in-patient places for young people, highlighted by the Prime Time programme, had tragically been evident for years.

'Last night's Prime Time programme starkly revealed the human suffering of those children and parents abandoned by Ireland's under-resourced psychiatric services. A deeply saddening exposé, it was unfortunately not surprising to those of us who have been working on mental health issues for some time.

'The fact is that child and adolescent psychiatric services account for only 5-10% of spending on mental health services, while serving 22.68% of the population. This under-investment has resulted, as we saw last night, in child and adolescent services which are either sporadic or non-existent.

'This situation has been allowed to develop despite the fact that in excess of 200,000 children have a mental or behavioural problem at any one time. The infrastructure is not in place to meet these needs and the lack of specialised services for young people has led to unacceptable long waiting lists and the admission of children into adult services.

'Hearing the personal stories of those young people last night who endured inappropriate accommodation in adult units was a gruelling experience and absolutely surreal in the context of 21st Century Celtic Tiger Ireland. It is absolutely galling to read that the current Government has taken in €8 billion more in taxes than expected in their own estimates and yet the State is still abandoning the most vulnerable of our citizens.

'Fine Gael, along with our colleagues in the Labour party, has committed to increasing specialist out-patient teams for child and adolescent services by 50% and to bringing the established teams up to the recommended staffing complement. In our first year of Government we will devote €16 million to child and adolescent services and we have committed to an €80 million programme over 5 years to increase in-patient facilities and achieve the target of comprehensive, fully staffed services for the specific needs of ADHD/hyperkinetic disorder and conduct disorder.

'In light of the very personal pain revealed in the Prime Time programme, the suffering of the children involved and the agony of parents whose children are either psychologically or physically being lost to them, the response of the Minister in charge of mental health services was deeply disappointing. Instead of casting about for scapegoats and calling for reviews when it's too late, the Minister should be apologising to those families who have been unable to find help despite their desperate need. Furthermore he should focus on completing those developments which are already underway as quickly as possible as well as following through on long-promised commitments.'