Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew has said health and social care workers deserve fair pay and safe working conditions.
Supporting striking workers today, the party’s health spokesperson called on the British Government to get on with delivering a deal that meets their needs.
Colm Gildernew said:
“I fully support our health workers who are back on the picket lines today striking for fair pay and safe working conditions.
“These workers always go over and above to care for people and they shouldn’t be forced to strike in the depths of a cold winter for what they deserve.
“Cruel Tory cuts have undermined our health and social care services for over 12 years.
“Without fair pay and safe working conditions, it becomes much tougher to retain skilled health and social care workers and that needs to be addressed.
“The British Government needs to end the attacks on our health service and bring forward a deal that meets the needs of workers now.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson for Mental Health, Mark Ward TD, has called for an urgent response to keeps CAMHS beds open in Eist Linn, Cork.
Deputy Ward was speaking after concerns regarding staff leaving the facility were raised by the Psychiatric Nurses Association this week.
Teachta Ward said:
“Urgent action is needed to stop staff leaving our mental health services and the knock-on effect of bed closures.
“The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) this week added to the concerns of staff leaving Eist Linn CAMHS services, which currently has 16 beds.
“CAMHS inpatient capacity is already reduced since the closure of 11 beds in Linn Dara, back in May of last year.
“These beds were due to be reopened in September, which did not happen, and again in December, which also did not happen. There is now no confirmed date for when these beds will be reopened.
“Out of the 72 beds that are available, only 51 are in operational this moment in time and the uncertainty over the 16 beds at Eist Linn does not bode well for an already embattled CAMHS.
“We could find ourselves in a situation where we only have 35 of the 72 inpatient CAMHS beds available. This is unacceptable.
“This week, the Mental Health Commission launched an interim report into CAMHS and identified a series of issues, including long waiting lists due to staffing issues.
“If we have further bed closures, CAMHS will come apart at the seams.
“I agree with the calls by the PNA for a workforce planning group to be urgently established to tackle the issues of staff recruitment and retention.
“We need to see urgency from the government to keep these beds open and to do everything possible to return CAMHS bed capacity to 100%. We cannot have any further false promises for when they will be reopened, we need action.
“I have written to Minister Mary Butler and asked that she puts every effort in to keep these vital beds open. Sinn Féin have also outlined our plan to reform CAMHS so that it is fit for purpose, through ring-fenced funding and safe staffing levels."
Sinn Féin TD for Limerick, Maurice Quinlivan, has said that the publication of a letter by 87 consultants regarding conditions at UHL is further evidence of the need for direct and immediate government intervention at the hospital.
Teachta Quinlivan said:
“This letter from consultants published today, following so quickly following last weekend's huge protest, is further evidence that an immediate intervention is needed to address the litany of issues at University Hospital Limerick.
“The letter is extremely welcome but concerning. The consultants point to an increasingly demoralised staff that is resulting in ongoing problems with recruitment and retention at the hospital.
“The open letter, submitted by 87 consultants at UHL, highlighted the extreme levels of overcrowding and relentless demand on their services over a period of 10 years. The letter highlighted that the UL Hospitals Group is not adequately resourced to deal with the volume of emergency presentations.
“The ongoing issues originate from the Fianna Fáil’s Government decision in 2009. As stated by the consultants, this caused a ‘poorly resourced reconfiguration of hospital services in the midwest and the failure to deliver the 640 beds needed to support this reconfiguration were never delivered’.
“In 2022, there were over 79,000 presentations at the ED at UHL. The Emergency Department, when built in 2017, was designed for a maximum attendance of 190 patients per day.
“The consultants note that there are over 240 patients seen at the ED every day. This is not sustainable, particularly when one considers that there are only 530 in-patient beds in the unit. UL Hospital Group management have acknowledged that they need at least 200 more beds to simply meet the national average.
“This crisis is a result of failures at government level. A failure to deliver on the number of beds and staffing needed to cope with the closure of other A&Es. Indeed, the letter notes that the required capacity at UHL, the withdrawal of direct emergency hospital care at Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals were detrimental.
“I commend these health professionals for raising their concerns in such a public way, I’m sure most of them would prefer to focus on delivering proper healthcare than having to publicise the problems in UHL in the media.
“The staff at UHL work in very challenging circumstances and this cannot be allowed to continue. Working in these cramped conditions is neither good for our health professionals or for the care and dignity of patients.
“I support the call of these 87 consultants in their request for urgent intervention and for increasing the use of our model two hospitals in a safe and clinically effective manner.
“Following the weekend's protest, it is no longer tenable for the Minister for Health to dismiss the legitimate concerns of the people and hospital professionals in the MidWest.”
“We want an end to Fianna Fáil & Fine Gael governments who serve landlords, vultures and cuckoo funds” – MacManus addresses Sligo Commemoration
Sinn Féin MEP for Midlands Northwest, Chris MacManus, has laid blame at successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments for decimating rural towns and communities across Ireland.
Speaking at the Kevin Coen Commemoration in Sligo, MacManus said:
“We want an end to Fianna Fáil & Fine Gael governments who serve landlords, vultures and cuckoo funds, and not the Irish people. We want an end to successive governments that have decimated our rural towns and communities by closing vital services such as post offices and GP Practices”.
MacManus went on to say that it is shameful that homeless charities are under severe pressure in 2023. “We have families going cold, children going hungry and homeless charities overstretched and overburdened. This, in the backdrop of government ministers patting themselves on the back as they preside over the finances of one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Shame on them.”
MacManus concluded by saying that a Sinn Féin government would finally provide real change. “I believe we need a government that will give workers and families a break. That is why we need Sinn Fein to lead the next Government” ENDS
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Defence, John Brady TD, has expressed concern at revelations that a further two naval vessels are being placed in reserve over the next number of weeks as a result of the failure of the government to address the crippling recruitment and retention crisis in the Defence Forces.
This will mean that at a time of heightened international crisis, the naval service will be reduced to having four vessels to patrol Irish waters.
The Wicklow TD said:
“Today’s revelations that the LE Róisín and the LE Niamh are to be effectively taken out of service, as a direct consequence of the failure of the government to address the crippling recruitment and retention crisis in the Defence Forces, represents a staggering failure for Minister Martin and the government.
“Despite having set themselves a target of recruiting an additional 2,000 members to the Defence Forces, the current strength of the Defence Forces is close to being 1,500 under strength.
“While this is both damning and alarming, it could be avoided if the government took the appropriate measures to address the issues at the heart of the recruitment and retention crisis.
“The fact is that the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces Report, much lauded by government, made recommendations that would go a long way towards meeting the concerns that are driving members of the Defence Forces to leave the various branches of the service to take up roles in the private sector.
“It is no coincidence that the vast majority of recommendations that deal with the concerns of the members of the Defence Forces have not been addressed.
“The Working Time Directive has still not been implanted, patrol duty allowances have not been adequately addressed, with pension arrangements remaining a matter of contention.
“Despite these failings, the government is spending hundreds of millions on two vessels, which will arrive from New Zealand in a number of months, even though it is difficult to imagine how these vessels will be able to go to sea, with the lack of available naval personnel to staff them.
“With falling numbers of personnel, remaining members are being forced to perform more roles, for longer hours. This is having a hugely detrimental effect on any attempt to achieve a work life balance for members. It is little wonder that the private sector finds it so easy to recruit members from the Defence Forces.
“The continuing failure of the government to address this crisis is undermining the security and sovereignty of the state. The government must act, and it must act immediately to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the Defence Forces, before they are reduced to the point where they can no longer fulfil their obligations to the state.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD, has said that the Housing Commission research on housing need fatally undermined the government housing targets.
The Dublin Mid-West TD called on the government to publish the research.
Teachta Ó Broin said:
“The Housing Commission research on housing need, revealed in the Irish Times today, fatally undermined the government's housing plan targets. The research suggests that annual housing need ranges from 42,000 new homes a year to 62,000 homes.
“Government housing targets have been widely criticised as inadequate since the publication of their plan in 2021 by opposition, industry and academic experts.
“Sinn Féin argued back in early 2020 that the real need, when pent-up demand for social and affordable housing was taken into account, was at least 40,000 new homes a year.
“Since then, we have had three years of undersupply, significant economic growth and unanticipated population growth due to the war in Ukraine.
“It is clear from the Housing Commission research that government must urgently revise upwards their overall housing targets from this year onwards. They must also adjust their social and affordable housing targets based on an objective assessment of need.
“The current targets are not based on any empirical evidence. They are the outworking of political considerations by government. That is not an acceptable way to deal with housing need. The government's housing targets are nothing short of politically massaged numbers.
“On foot of the publication of the Housing Commission’s research, the government must give responsibility for verifying and annually reviewing the data to a fully independent group, including the ESRI and Housing Agency.
“If we are serious about tackling the housing crisis we need an objective and independent assessment of actual need underpinning all aspects of government housing policy.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Defence, John Brady TD, challenged members of a Turkish delegation to Leinster House during a meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence (JCFAD).
Members of the Kurdish political party HDP (also known as the People's Democracy Party) had been deliberately excluded from what was supposed to be an all-party delegation from the Turkish parliament.
The Wicklow TD said:
“I became aware of a copy of a letter from the three HDP members of the Turkish Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission, in which they outlined their exclusion from the delegation that visited Leinster House. They elaborated further to detail how they have been excluded from all foreign visits since 2016. They are simply not informed of the impending visits.
“There have been moves afoot in Türkiye since 2021 to attempt to ban the HDP. A recurring process that the Kurdish party has put through several times before. The prosecutor leading the legal process made his final case on January 10.
“The Turkish Presidential election is scheduled to take place on May 14. It is believed that the Turkish authorities will attempt to time the final judgement against the HDP to just prior to the election to effectively exclude them from the ballot in the very final stages of the campaign.
“Alongside these, efforts are being made to cut funding from the HDP, targeting their bank accounts, and cutting the party off from statutory funding which all political parties are entitled to.
“In the last election in Türkiye, the HDP secured 10 percent of the vote. It is predicted that in the upcoming Presidential election that they will secure somewhere between 12 to 15 percent.
“If the Turkish prosecutor is successful in banning the HDP, it will have major implications for the chances of re-election of outgoing President Erdogan. Who after twenty years in power, has been under significant pressure in the run up to the ballot, largely as a result of the failure of the government to tackle the rampant inflation in Türkiye.
“As a member of Sinn Féin, I am all too aware of the failure of the politics of exclusion. My party was excluded, discriminated against, and banned from the airwaves for decades. But it is only through inclusion, through dialogue and partnership that peace and justice can be achieved."
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Matt Carthy TD, has said the revelation that government issued a Shareholder Letter of Expectation to Coillte last June directing the company to ‘develop initiatives’ including participation in ‘a subsidiary or partnership enterprise’ has exposed their complicity in the joint venture with British Investment Fund, Gresham House.
Speaking during Tuesday’s debate on the Sinn Féin motion calling for the joint venture to be stopped, Deputy Carthy said that the letter of expectation showed that not only were the government aware of Coillte’s plans, but they had provided the mandate for the venture to be finalised.
Teachta Carthy said:
“Not only were government aware of Coillte’s plans to enter into a joint venture with a British investment fund, they gave them a mandate, through a shareholder letter of expectation, to seal the deal.
“According to text buried in a Parliamentary Question response received by me, Minister McConalogue has confirmed that a Shareholder Letter of Expectation was issued to Coillte on 2nd June 2022 which included a direction to Coillte to ‘develop initiatives to support and realise the planting of such forests to a meaningful scale in the years ahead, whether as part of their core business or as participants in a subsidiary or partnership enterprise’.
“It is clear that this shareholder letter of expectation was the government go-ahead to Coillte to pursue an approach that led to the Gresham House deal.
“There are now serious questions for government who, up until now, have suggested that Coillte pursued this joint venture independent from government.
“These questions include precisely who in government was aware of the letter of expectation and whether a new letter will now issue to ensure that Coillte do not pursue further ventures of this kind.
“The Sinn Féin motion before the Dáil this week calls on government to instruct Coillte to stop the Gresham House deal. The deal is bad for the environment, for communities and for farmers; it will see tens of millions of Irish taxpayers euro being used to subsidise a land-grab by a British investment fund.
“It is not good enough for government to simply not oppose our motion. They must act on it.”
Sinn Féin’s leader in the Seanad, Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile, has called for clarity from British Home Office officials regarding the proposed roll-out of 'Electronic Travel Authorisation', or ETA, for third country nationals crossing the border.
The Sinn Féin Senator was in London, alongside party colleague Sorca Clarke TD, as part of a British Irish Parliamentary Association committee delegation.
Speaking from London, following a meeting with a British Home Office Minister, Senator Ó Donnghaile said:
"This visit has only confirmed our worst expectations. Where we should find detail and answers, we continually were faced with confusion and a total lack of understanding in regards to how this legislation effects Ireland, north and south.
“Our meeting with the British Home Office has provided no clarity whatsoever regarding the introduction of ‘Electronic Travel Authorisation’ for third country nationals crossing the border.
"The ETA proposals throw up fresh barriers at the border for non-Irish and non-British residents and visitors coming to the north. If introduced, ordinary men and women who - whether it be for work, tourism, or study - wish to travel into the Six Counties will be expected to apply for an ETA. The policy is both absurd and offensive.
"I welcomed the opportunity to put Sinn Féin's concerns directly to Home Office representatives during this visit. We left them in no doubt that these proposals run contrary to the Common Travel Area and the hard-won Good Friday Agreement.
“While the Seanad has already passed a Sinn Féin motion rejecting any such measures unanimously, we need to see a renewed cross-party mobilisation against any potential hardening of the border on our island.
"With mounting speculation of a potential US Presidential visit to Ireland in the spring, to coincide with the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, are we genuinely suggesting that President Biden, as a third country national, could be stopped at the border and asked if he's applied for his electronic travel authorisation? What signal would that send to the world?
"A key gain of the Irish peace process was the ability to travel throughout Ireland unobstructed.
“This Tory policy is being imposed without an iota of thought or concern for the impact it will have on people in Ireland. It is driven by a nasty, right-wing, 'Little Englander' agenda that must be rejected at all costs.
“The British government needs to wake up and realise that their ETA is not wanted."
Sinn Féin Mayor of Derry & Strabane Sandra Duffy will challenge bosses at the BBC in London over plans to axe jobs and services at Radio Foyle.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Councillor Duffy said:
“I will meet with BBC bosses in London tomorrow to tell them that plans to cut jobs and services at Radio Foyle must be scrapped.
“The people of Derry have relied on Radio Foyle for decades for news and to share our story and be the community’s voice.
“It is unthinkable there will not be a local news programme until 1pm on Radio Foyle, and I will make it clear that axing the award-winning Breakfast Show is unacceptable.
“I will again invite the BBC bosses to visit Derry to meet with local people and recognise the huge place that our radio station has in the community.
“As Mayor of Derry & Strabane, I will continue to fight to protect jobs and oppose attempts to strip away services at Radio Foyle.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Mental Health, Mark Ward TD, has said that children and families failed by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) want to hear answers and accountability when the damning report by the Mental Health Commission is debated in the Dáil this Thursday.
Teachta Ward wrote to the Ceann Comhairle yesterday requesting time on the Dáil schedule this week because of the seriousness of the report.
Teachta Ward said:
“There are lifelong effects for those failed by the scandal in CAMHS.
“Children affected and their families want to know where does the buck stop and who is ultimately accountable and responsible for this crisis?
“So I welcome the fact that the Dáil will debate the Mental Health Commission report into CAMHS - I wrote to the Ceann Comhairle first thing yesterday requesting that time be made for such a debate.
“This week’s report has shown that CAMHS is beyond crisis point and, worryingly, there is a huge disconnect between Ministers Donnelly and Butler, their Department, and the HSE.
“The aftermath of the Maskey Report into South Kerry CAMHS last year saw most of the blame for the serious harm to CAMHS patients attributed to a junior doctor.
“Nobody in a senior role in the HSE or the Department of Health was held accountable, despite huge governance issues highlighted in the report.
“That cannot happen again. Children and their families demand answers, and demand accountability so that these failures, and the consequences of them, are never repeated.
“We had a situation last year where Minister Butler agreed with a Sinn Féin call to reinstate a National Director for Mental Health only for this appointment to be blocked by the HSE.
“The position of a National Director for Mental Health was in place until 2016 when the HSE discontinued the role. It is vital that this role is reinstated so we can have accountability in the HSE and that the National Director reports directly to the Minister.
“I raised some of the issues in this report with Minister Butler last month when I became aware that concerns had been escalated by the Mental Health Commission to the HSE.
“I said that it was very worrying that the HSE did not inform Minister Butler the nature of these concerns.
“Children and their families want to know who is in charge of Mental Health, a democratically elected Minister or the HSE?
“It is vital that the Minister answers questions and provides accountability on the key concerns in this latest report on child safety, lack of governance and failures to manage risks.
“We need a clear strategy to tackle this crisis and major reforms in children’s mental health services as what has been done so far is clearly not working.”
Sinn Féin MLA Linda Dillon has called for any mothers who gave birth in Mother and Baby Homes to get in contact with the police.
The Mid-Ulster MLA said:
"The police are currently working with the Australian Federal Police to locate adults in Australia who may have been victims of the Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland.
"Hundreds of children were taken from their mothers and sold to families in Australia, and across the world.
"This is an opportunity to reunite mothers and their children who have been robbed of knowing each other for decades.
"This won't right the wrongs of the past but it is a huge step forward for victims and survivors and is an opportunity many mothers thought they would never have."
Sinn Féin MP John Finucane has called on the British Government to ‘stop the passage’ of the flawed Legacy Bill which is designed to block truth and justice for victims and families.
Speaking ahead of a demonstration outside the NIO headquarters at Erskine House in Belfast city centre at 1pm today, the North Belfast MP called for dialogue to deliver an agreed way forward.
John Finucane said:
“The flawed Legacy Bill will go to the British House of Lords today, ignoring opposition from victims and families, human rights experts, churches, the UN and all the political parties on this island.
“Just last week, a letter from a cross-party group of US politicians told British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that the Bill will deny truth and justice to thousands of victims and families.
“This cruel and callous legislation is designed to shut down efforts to get justice through the courts, and to let British state forces who killed Irish citizens off the hook.
“I am reiterating Sinn Féin’s call for an urgent summit involving the British and Irish governments and political parties on the issue of legacy.
“If the British Government is serious about upholding victims and families legal right to truth and justice, they will stop the passage of the Legacy Bill to allow for dialogue.
“The legacy mechanisms agreed at Stormont House in 2014 demonstrated that working together is the best way to achieve an agreed way forward, not self-serving solo runs.”
First Minister Designate Michelle O’Neill has said the upgrade of the A5 road will save lives and said work must begin immediately once legal challenges have been overcome.
The Sinn Fein Leas-Uachtarán was speaking after the launch of the GAA’s Enough lives lost on the A5 campaign at Garvaghey.
Michelle O’Neill MLA said:
“We have seen devastating loss of life on the A5 over many years. We need to finally see this project delivered to help prevent further heartbreak on this dangerous road.
“I recently raised the A5 with An Taoiseach and made it clear that upgrading this road must continue to be a shared priority for the Irish Government and any new Executive.
“A full upgrade and dualling of this road from Derry to Aughnacloy, via Strabane and Omagh, was agreed by the Executive and the Irish Government in 2007.
“This development has been held up for too long by legal challenges and public inquiries. Once these challenges are overcome, it must proceed without delay.
“Not only will this project transform a dangerous road, but it will also have huge economic benefits, create jobs and help connect the north west to the rest of the island.
“Delivering the A5 road upgrade will save lives. It will continue to be a priority for Sinn Féin.”
Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy has said the DUP’s boycott of the Executive has left public services at the mercy of cruel Tory cuts.
Speaking after the Budget Bill passed through Westminster today, Conor Murphy said:
“The decision by the DUP to boycott the Executive has left people and public services exposed to the full wrath of savage Tory cuts.
“Locally elected ministers should be working together around the Executive and setting a Budget, but instead Tory ministers with no mandate are making bad decisions for people here.
“And this comes at a time of crisis in our health service, when health workers are struggling to cope and ambulances are piled up at the doors of jam packed A&Es.
“Sinn Féin is ready to form an Executive today, to deliver a three year Budget, and work together with others to invest in the health service and tackle the rising cost of living.
“There is serious work to be done. Chris Heaton-Harris needs to clarify now exactly what he is doing to get the Executive up and running now.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Rose Conway-Walsh TD, has said that the Society of St Vincent De Paul spending €2 million last year to 600 students in third-level education must serve as a wake-up call for government.
Teachta Conway-Walsh said:
“St Vincent De Paul has reported that more and more students are reaching out to them for help each year. It is clear that third-level education is becoming unattainable for many families.
“Too many students and their families are facing into another term of struggle to keep ahead of unprecedented costs of accessing third level education.
“SUSI supports have not kept pace with the rising cost of living and others are excluded altogether. While this year saw the first increase in this maintenance grant, that was the first increase since the supports were introduced over 10 years ago.
“The government commissioned an independent review that was published last year that called for a 25 percent increase in the amount of the supports in order to keep up with the rising cost of living. That increase was based on meeting pre-pandemic costs and did not take into account the last two years of inflation.
“The housing and cost of living crises are affecting all aspects of our society. Further and higher education is no exception. This has the potential to set back years in terms of increased access into third-level education.
“We have seen rents increase by 82 percent over the last 10 years. The cost of rent has now become the single biggest barrier to third-level education and has put rural communities at a particular disadvantage.
“The government recently announced an increase to the Student Assistance Fund. While this is welcome, it will only serve to paper over the cracks.
“What is needed is a comprehensive plan to reduce the cost of education and increase SUSI supports. Sinn Féin is ready to work with the government to make these reforms."
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, Mairéad Farrell TD, will bring forward legislation to reform the public ethics framework in the wake of recent ministerial resignations and concerns around standards in public office.
Teachta Farrell said:
“The entire ethics framework needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, but my bill would allow it to better function while that process takes place.
“Simply allowing the ongoing situation to persist while the government tells us that they are ‘working on it’ is tantamount to saying there will be no accountability in the lifetime of this government.
“In recent months, we have had two ministerial resignations for, among other things, a failure to disclose relevant interests.
“We have had many having to correct the statements of their interests due to a failure to disclose all the required information. We have even had complaints referred to SIPO, who are also currently investigating the minister in charge of public ethics and standards.
“The public ethics framework in this state is long overdue an overhaul. It is a bizarre situation where we have an ethics watchdog (SIPO) who cannot initiate its own investigations despite them having requested this power for years.
“There is no penalty for those who fail to disclose their interests, and in recent months we have seen certain ministers seemingly forgetting that they had more properties than you could count on both hands.
“Lastly, the fact that Oireachtas members are not required to disclose their liabilities above a certain threshold, excluding the private home, is a major weakness that has long been identified.
“Many will recall the use of ‘guaranteed loans’ and the part that they played in corruption scandals of the tribunals era. How this was never rectified is beyond me.
“My bill would allow SIPO to initiate investigations on its own, broaden the list of declarable interests, and make it a sanctionable offence for someone found to have wilfully and recklessly failed to make the required disclosures.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, has said that urgent action is needed to fix the dysfunctional Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) that is failing children and families.
Responding to the Mental Health Commission Report published today, Teachta Cullinane outlined four key priority areas where urgent action is needed.
Teachta Cullinane said:
“The Mental Health Commission review into CAMHS makes for difficult reading. Failure to properly invest in the service is having real, tragic consequences for these children, including hundreds of ‘lost’ children who were put on medication without any follow up care.
“Our children deserve action and a functioning mental health service. Urgent action is needed and there are several key steps that the government can and should take.
“Firstly, we need ringfenced funding for the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. It needs a clear budget and accountability for that budget.
“Sharing the Vision, the government’s mental health plan, has not been costed and there is no timeframe for implementation.
“The heel-dragging must stop now and a clear funding plan must be put in place. Sinn Féin set out a multi-annual funding plan in our Alternative Budget for Health 2023 and the government must do the same.
“Secondly, the government must set national standards for monitoring the use of antipsychotic medications by children and young people. This should be part of new regulations under the Mental Health Act focused on regulating CAMHS. It is clearly needed to ensure that no more children are given strong medication and then forgotten about.
“Thirdly, we need a medium-term plan for expanding CAMHS to help young adults up to 25. This is international best practice, but currently we are letting children drop off a cliff edge in relation to services at 18. Adult mental health services are not resourced or the right place for young adults with emerging mental health difficulties.
“Fourthly, we need a serious workforce plan to deliver the services which our children deserve. The government has not trained enough mental health professionals, especially psychiatrists, or sufficiently supported those that are in place.
"Like everything else in healthcare, this crisis has been caused by a failure to plan. CAMHS teams are woefully understaffed. Education and training places must be rapidly increased across further and higher education institutes to give us a pipeline for staff for our CAMHS teams.
“It is important that we don’t forget who this is about. This is about children with really serious mental health problems who need to be seen urgently and have been referred into services which, in many cases, don’t exist, or have extremely long waiting lists, or which are poorly staffed or poorly funded. This is an absolute disgrace that has put children in harm’s way.
“They cannot access the services they need when they need them, and hundreds have been given medication without any follow up, as if that will solve their problems. It has likely made them worse, and families are suffering because of it.
“This system is failing children and families. A line must be drawn in the sand because enough is enough.”
