As the Deputy will be aware, eating disorders are complex, individualised and are and can be one of the most serious mental health illnesses anybody can go through. As Minister of State, I am firmly committed to improving services for eating disorders in Ireland. The national clinical programme was set up in 2018, and when it was set up it was envisaged there would be approximately 60 people who would require the supports of clinical eating disorder teams. The figure now stands at approximately 600 in the space of seven years. The programme has progressed very well. Some 90% of all people with an eating disorder are treated in the community. Quite rightly, therefore, a decision was made to focus the supports as much as possible in the community. We now have 14 of the 16 teams envisaged by the model of care funded. Eleven of them are in place and one of them actually moved into a new premises last Friday, while three of them are currently in the process of recruitment. Most teams, as I said, are fully operational and seeing people with eating disorders every day. It is also extremely important to point out that there are 100 dedicated clinicians working across all the eating disorder teams in the country, with ten psychiatric consultants. The progress being made is not being acknowledged at all. There was recurring funding of €9 million this year alone for eating disorder teams under this clinical programme. We have two more teams to fund and I hope to do that in next year's budget, with the support of the Minister. Under-18s can access 20 eating disorder beds across the four CAMHS inpatient units. This is very clear. I say this because this has been lost in translation as well. There are 20 dedicated eating disorder beds across four CAMHS inpatient units. Coupled with this, the majority of people presenting with eating disorders are, unfortunately, aged 14, 15, 16 and 17. I will respond during my next contribution concerning the adult beds.
Sentiment score: 0.07
Some of the Deputy's information is inaccurate. I have put a major focus on eating disorders. Just to be clear, no child under 18 has had to have treatment abroad since 2019. This is because we now have-----
Sentiment score: 0.03
Please let me answer. We now have the nasogastric tube feeding, which is available in the Eist Linn centre in Cork, in the Linn Dara unit and in Merlin Park. Unfortunately, this is a feature associated with an eating disorder, but we do have this provision. For the past six years, we have spent €1 million annually treating some very complex cases abroad. We also spend money every year on supporting adults with eating disorders in private facilities in Ireland. This is a fact. In relation to the beds issue, I had a review undertaken of all mental health bed capacity. It has taken place and is currently under consideration by the HSE. This includes a review of data on eating disorder bed use in the HSE, in the approved centres, and in private placements and treatment abroad.
Sentiment score: 0.05
Many people choose to use the treatment abroad scheme themselves. They actually choose to use it. We have to be fair. People do choose to use the treatment abroad scheme.
Sentiment score: 0.08
I am expecting-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
Does the Deputy want me to answer her question or does she want to heckle me? It is up to her.
Sentiment score: 0.08
I expect to receive a plan from the HSE regarding future eating disorder bed provision very shortly. Yesterday, I met Dr. Michelle Clifford, clinical lead, and Dr. Amir Niazi, national clinical adviser and, on Monday, I met Bernard Gloster, the CEO of the HSE, to discuss this specific issue. I have had four priorities since I was reappointed. I thank the Minister for my delegated functions this week. These priorities include the CAMHS waiting list, the adult beds and the Mental Health Bill 2024, which I hope to bring to Committee Stage in the Dáil next month. In relation to the eating disorder beds and the Deputy's earlier comments, what I said was that the review was specifically looking at the fact that 90% of all eating disorders are treated in the community and we may not need the 20 beds. That is the whole purpose of the review and the report on it, which I await. The spread of the beds will be geographical; they will not just be located in Dublin.
Sentiment score: 0.01
I thank the Deputy for his question and for his clarification. Can I clarify the question number?
Sentiment score: 0.22
The question relates to the mental health intellectual disability teams, which are different from other teams because they are very small. There may be nine or ten people on an eating disorder or CAMHS multidisciplinary team, for example, but mental health intellectual disability teams can normally, believe it or not, be made up of just one person and some staff to support them. I am disappointed to hear that the person referred to by the Deputy left after a week. This is part of the clinical programmes under CAMHS. There are several clinical programmes. CAMHS received approximately €160 million in dedicated funding in 2024, an increase on €137 million in 2023. We also provided funding of €110 million to various NGOs, with a significant proportion dedicated to supporting young people. Due to how the question was posed - we understood it referred to an "information database" - the prepared answer is not sufficient for what the Deputy is actually asking about. There is investment across all clinical programmes this year, including eating disorders and mental health with intellectual disability. Is the Deputy's question about when that position will be filled again?
Sentiment score: 0.30
Did that child have an intellectual disability as well?
Sentiment score: 0.66
The Deputy is saying "There is no CAMHS service", but that is factually incorrect. There were 223,000 appointments last year for children-----
Sentiment score: -0.08
No, no. To be fair, there were 223,000 appointments for young people with CAMHS last year. Some people who are receiving the support of CAMHS can be in CAMHS for up to four years, for example, and can be seen on a two-weekly basis. I cannot comment on that individual case but we are investing €160 million this year in CAMHS. There are over 80 consultant psychiatrists working across CAMHS. I am not saying there are not challenges because there certainly are but we are investing in CAMHS. If the Deputy wants to give me the specifics, I will look at the case because his question did not lend to a proper answer being provided, as I am sure he will appreciate.
Sentiment score: 0.14
The Deputy should realise that the clinical lead position is funded and the HSE is currently trying to recruit into it. It is not the case that it is not being funded. The Deputy should not give the impression that we are just leaving one particular area of the country without any support because we are not.
Sentiment score: -0.15