Sinn Féin candidate for Dublin South West, Seán Crowe, outlined that a Sinn Féin government will invest in mental health services and make the provision of proper mental services a key priority.

Seán Crowe said:

“A recent report from the Child Development Initiative (CDI), carried out by Trinity College Dublin and researching 12 to 18 years olds living in the Tallaght area, found that one third of teenagers in Tallaght face mental health difficulties. It also identified massive gaps in youth mental health services.

“I was a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Mental Health and I repeatedly raised the lack of adequate mental health services in Dublin South West with the Minister for Health.

“In a response to a Parliamentary Question I tabled in September, the HSE revealed that 50 children in Dublin South West were waiting up to 3 months for an appointment with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), 24 children were waiting up to 6 months, while 7 children were waiting up 9 months.

“No one, especially a young person in a mental health crisis, should have to wait months for an appointment. A cry for help from whatever quarter should be heard and seen as quickly as possible.

“The staff running CAMHS are working extremely hard and in difficult conditions. The long waiting lists and the crisis in mental health services stem from Fine Gael’s mismanagement, with the full support of Fianna Fáil.

“The inability of the government to address the crisis in children’s and youth mental health services show they are not fit to run the health service.

“Sinn Féin will end the huge delays that children and teenagers are facing when they try access mental health services. In government Sinn Féin will invest in mental health services and make the provision of proper mental services a key priority.”

ENDS