Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said that mental health services for children and young people in the CHO7 area, which takes in Dublin South West, must be prioritised for massive investment and support, saying that it was time for Minister Stehpen Donnelly to show some leadership on the matter.

Teachta Crowe said:

“The services that children and young people in the Dublin South West area rely on for mental health support and treatment is wholly inadequate. Hundreds of children are on waiting lists while the nearby Linn Dara facility is forced to operate at only 50% capacity due to failures to recruit and retain staff. This is a state of the art facility and accommodation that should be treating young people, not opened and closed every couple of years due to staff shortages.

“I chaired a meeting of the Oireachtas Health Committee this week and what we heard from both the Mental Health Commission and the HSE was utterly shocking. Even basic things such as checking their height and weight or performing blood tests before prescribing young people anti-psychotic medications is only done about 70% of the time. This is unacceptable as these psychotic drugs can have dangerous side effects on the young person.

“Services in the CHO7 area, which takes in Dublin South West, must be prioritised for additional investment and support. Budget 2024 was a disaster for mental health services, but Minister Stephen Donnelly must show some leadership and begin to put right his government’s failings in this area.”