Sinn F\u00e9in candidate for Dublin South West, Se\u00e1n Crowe,\noutlined that a Sinn F\u00e9in government will invest in mental health services and\nmake the provision of proper mental services a key priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Se\u00e1n Crowe said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA 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.<\/p>
\u201cI 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.<\/p>
\u201cIn 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.<\/p>
\u201cNo 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.<\/p>
\u201cThe 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\u2019s mismanagement, with the full support of Fianna F\u00e1il.<\/p>
\u201cThe inability of the government to address the crisis in children\u2019s and youth mental health services show they are not fit to run the health service.<\/p>