Youth mental health services in Ireland at “breaking point” says Ward

Local Sinn Féin TD Mark Ward has laid out his party’s plans to change mental health services in Ireland should they get into government.

The Dublin Mid-West TD, who serves as the party’s spokesperson on mental health, helped launch Sinn Fein’s mental health action plan this week.

Ward said the plan would “transform the delivery of mental health services across the state.”

He said that the party is “absolutely committed” to delivering what he calls “widespread, significant changes” to Ireland’s mental healthcare system and has offered a “fresh start.”

Following on from fellow Dublin Mid-West TD Eoin Ó Broin announcing how Sinn Féin would change housing should they get into government, Ward has set out his stall on how the party would look to improve mental health services.

The most eye-catching element of Sinn Féin’s plan is the replacement of the current CAMHS system, of which Ward has been a critic.

In his time as Sinn Féin’s mental health spokesperson, Ward has repeatedly criticised the CAMHS service as not being fit for purpose and unable to cope with the demands of contemporary Irish society.

As recently as June, Ward commented that the government were “kicking the can down the road” on CAMHS reform and said a new service should be made available.

The party said “youth mental health services in Ireland are at breaking point; early intervention is key to reducing the chance of lifelong ill-health, but that chance is passing young people by. 75% of mental health conditions are established by the age of 25, but young people aged 18-25 are not specifically targeted for early intervention.”

Sinn Fein’s document states that since the current government took office in June 2020, the number of young people waiting for appointments with CAMHS has increased from 2115 to 3842.

Of those 3842, 491 of those have waited for more than a year for an appointment, with the government ostensibly blaming the Covid-19 pandemic for the long waiting lists.

Ward, who worked in mental health and addiction services prior to becoming a TD, said “having spent years working in frontline addiction and mental health services, I know the importance of people getting the right mental health care, in the right place and at the right time.”

“Where you live and ability to pay should not be a barrier to accessing mental health services,” he said.

“Sinn Féin’s plan is based on fairness, access to high quality local services, early intervention, prevention, and suicide reduction. We would ensure that mental health is seen as an all-of-government priority.”

“We want to develop universal access to community-based therapy, counselling, and support, alongside addressing the crisis in emergency, urgent, and acute services.”

“We also want to see better care and outcomes for children and young people up to the age of 25, ending the cliff-edge faced by many young adults when they reach the age of 18.”

He said that there is a “big difference” between Sinn Féin’s mental health policy and the one currently employed by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. 

“We will move away from decades of crisis management and underinvestment to community-based, proactive care,” he said.

“This would be backed up by multi-annual funding, long-term planning, and workforce planning,” he added.

“Investment in mental health and wellbeing is a no-brainer. The social and economic benefits of a healthy and happy society are numerous. The impact on young people’s development, and our own growth as we age, cannot be overstated. It is crucial that we get this right.”

The document reads that it wants to make local services “the first port of call for people with mental health difficulties, with universal counselling, statewide access to Jigsaw, and strong links with GPs.”

The CAMHS replacement would look to raise the existing age limit of 18 years old up to 25 years old, ensuring that more young people can avail of mental healthcare services.

Twenty additional eating disorder inpatient beds and an expansion of community-based services are also called for in the document.

The document calls for the re-opening of the Keltoi service, which serves as a dual diagnosis service for people looking to combat addiction.

Keltoi was closed at the start of the  Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 on what was supposed to be a temporary service and has yet to re-open.

The document further states “mental health difficulties do not just occur between the hours of 9-5, Monday to Friday, but A&E is often not the most appropriate place for people in a crisis.”

Fellow Southside Sinn Féin TDs Chris Andrews and  Aengus Ó Snodaigh were also busy this week, launching the party’s activity card which would look to give every child between the ages of 4 and 18 receive a card worth €130 which they could spend on extracurricular sports or arts activities.

Andrews, the party spokesperson on sports, said that a similar scheme was rolled out in Iceland in 2007 and Ireland should follow suit.

“Our policy acknowledges the real benefits of investing in sports and cultural participation from a young age, in terms of community development, social cohesion and educational results, as well as health and wellbeing.”

“We save money in our health service when we support young people to stay active, helping to tackle obesity, depression, and substance abuse.”

Andrews said, “we know that for every €100 invested in sport by the government, the Exchequer receives up to €195 back through taxes on sports-supported expenditures and incomes, and we have known for almost two decades that half of the money invested by the State in arts funding later comes back to the Exchequer in taxation.”

“Despite us knowing this, Ireland has the worst ratio of GDP devoted to recreation and sporting services of all EU and EFTA member states, at only 0.1%, compared to an EU average of 0.4%.”

Ó Snodaigh said, “the success of Team Ireland athletes at the Olympics reminds us of both the power of sport to unite and uplift communities, and the importance of investing in our young people to foster ambition, determination, and perseverance.”

“We have set out our Olympic-sized vision; a €127 million investment for sport and culture, which would unleash the untapped potential of the next generation. Our athletes have gone above and beyond in their performance, and it’s time we politicians learnt from their example.