I thank Deputy Ó Súilleabháin for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The Minister is aware of the case the Deputy referred to and acknowledges the very difficult circumstances outlined by him and how difficult the situation described is for this young teacher and her family. In relation to the EU treatment abroad scheme, the HSE operates the scheme for people entitled under EU Regulation No. 883/2004. The Minister for Health has no role in directing treatment. Section 6 of the Health Service Executive (Governance) Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. The treatment abroad scheme is a consultant-led scheme and allows for a public consultant based in Ireland to refer a public patient who is normally resident in Ireland for treatment in the public healthcare system of another European Union or European Economic Area member state, the UK or Switzerland. Under the EU regulations and guidelines, the EU treatment abroad scheme provides for the cost of approved public treatments in another EU-EEA member state, the UK or Switzerland, through the issue of form S2, where the treatment is among the benefits provided by the Irish legislation and where it is not available in Ireland, or not available within the time normally necessary for obtaining it in Ireland, taking account of the patient's current state of health and the probable course of the disease. It is important to note that there is no statutory framework for referral of public patients outside the EU-EEA member states, the UK or Switzerland, or for the funding of any such treatment. The HSE has informed officials in the Department of Health that it received an application under the treatment abroad scheme, seeking funding of treatment in the USA, in this case on 1 April 2026 and that it has engaged with the applicant and her family regarding this matter. The HSE has advised that at this time the applicant did not meet the criteria of the treatment abroad scheme, which the Deputy mentioned, on two different grounds, namely, that the treatment sought was not to be provided within the EU-EEA, the UK or Switzerland, and she was not a public patient. The applicant is attending a consultant in a private capacity. The HSE treatment abroad scheme has advised that it suggested to the applicant's referring consultant that he engage with the relevant European reference network, ERN, the European reference network on rare multisystemic vascular diseases. The ERN enables specialists in Europe to discuss cases of patients affected by rare, low-prevalence and complex diseases, providing advice on the most appropriate diagnosis and the best treatment available. Ireland is an active participant in ERNs, with 18 recognised centres involved across a range of networks. Engagement with ERNs is an important step in ensuring that all appropriate EU-based expertise and treatment options have been explored. I assure the Deputy that officials in the Department of Health will continue to engage with the HSE to seek further updates that all avenues within Ireland and the EU that may be open to the young woman in question and her family have been fully explored in response to the very difficult circumstances outlined by him. I will also take on board and discuss with the Minister the clause the Deputy raised in relation to exceptional circumstances which fall outside the scope of the current support that can be provided and to see whether that can be looked at as a matter of urgency.

Sentiment score: 0.17

I reiterate that the HSE has advised that it suggested that the applicant's referring consultant engage with the relevant ERN, the European reference network on rare multisystemic vascular diseases. The ERN enables specialists in Europe to discuss cases of patients affected by rare, low-prevalence and complex diseases, providing advice on the most appropriate diagnosis and the best treatment available. Ireland is an active participant in ERN, with 18 recognised centres involved across a range of networks. Engagement with ERNs is an important step in ensuring that all appropriate EU-based expertise and treatment options have been explored. That said, the Department recognises, and I recognise, having listened to the Deputy, how difficult this individual case is for the applicant and her family. I assure the Deputy that officials in the Department of Health will continue to engage with the HSE and seek updates to ensure that every possible avenue within Ireland and the EU that may be open to the applicant and her family has been fully explored. As I said, I will bring to the attention of the Minister the exceptional of circumstances clause. I have no doubt she is well aware of it, but I will take that to her today and see if any further supports can be provided.

Sentiment score: 0.34

I thank all three Deputies for raising this really important issue. First, I want to make absolutely clear that neither my Department nor the HSE is closing any beds. In fact, this year, in budget 2026, I have provided over €4 million to open 18 HSE CAMHS beds. I have allocated €2.7 million to open the first phase of the new acute CAMHS wing of the national children's hospital and I have also allocated over €1.3 million to hire the staff to reopen 11 CAMHS beds in the state-of-the-art Linn Dara campus. As a result of this funding, the HSE has made the sensible decision to discontinue the purchase of ten CAMHS beds from a voluntary provider, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Fairview. These are not HSE beds but these are beds within the HSE that the HSE has been buying as additional capacity while the Linn Dara beds have been out of operation due to safe staffing. In 2025, the HSE child and youth mental health office completed a national review of HSE-funded CAMHS inpatient services focused on referrals, admissions, diagnoses, staffing and bed capacity. The review recommended the development of a national commissioning model and service specification in line with, and complementary to, the new CAMHS operational guidelines to ensure consistent access, service delivery and care standards across all inpatient units. The report made specific findings, which none of the Deputies referred to, regarding the current inpatient unit at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Fairview: first, the unit's restricted age cohort as it only accepts 15 to 17-year olds for admissions; second, the lack of an appropriate eating disorder pathway and no out-of-hours or weekend admissions; third, concerns raised by the Mental Health Commission regarding governance; fourth, staffing constraints, including reliance on a single full-time consultant dedicated to the unit; and, very importantly, unsuitable physical infrastructure where the current building is no longer fit for purpose. I understand the two floors above the CAMHS unit in St. Vincent’s Hospital, Fairview, are derelict or uninhabited. As these limitations result in inequitable access and service inconsistency when compared to other CAMHS inpatient units nationally, the HSE decided to discontinue the use of the beds at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Fairview, and to streamline the provision of HSE CAMHS inpatient beds across the Dublin region in line with the recommendations from the review report. Consequently, CAMHS inpatient beds will be provided through an expanded service at Linn Dara in Cherry Orchard and the newly commissioned beds in the Children's Hospital Ireland, CHI, campus to best meet the future needs of the HSE Dublin North East, HSE Dublin Midlands and HSE Dublin South East health regions. The HSE aims to reopen the 11 beds in Linn Dara by the end of September and has therefore advised St. Vincent’s Hospital, Fairview, it will no longer need the ten beds from the date it was paying for privately. There will be, of course, flexibility on both sides in relation to this timeline to ensure no reductions in overall capacity. Importantly, this approach will place all CAMHS inpatient units under a single, standardised HSE clinical governance framework and address current service limitations. There will be no staff redundancies arising from this decision. The HSE expects the transition to create opportunities for the experienced and dedicated staff working in St. Vincent’s within the newly commissioned CAMHS inpatient services at Linn Dara and CHI. I want to acknowledge the work done by the Psychiatric Nurses Association working in St. Vincent’s. It is of course a personal decision for staff whether or not they wish to transfer to either the new hospital or to Linn Dara. I was surprised to find the reconfiguration of beds was the main theme at this year's PNA annual conference. We face many challenges in our public mental health services and I did not expect keeping ten voluntary non-HSE CAMHS beds with the limitations I have described to be the key concern of the body for a profession for which I have the upmost admiration and respect.

Sentiment score: 0.24

There has been.

Sentiment score: 0.00

My team spoke to the PNA in advance of the conference and indeed spoke to some of the nurses in St. Vincent’s about this change. If anything the nurses' main concern was the way in which the decision was communicated to the staff at St. Vincent's by their CEO, by email on a Friday evening with no detail about the opportunities to transfer. That was completely wrong. This is no way to treat hard-working and dedicated staff who deserve our respect and to be communicated with properly about such a significant change. By way of background context, CAMHS inpatient bed capacity is 72 beds nationally but due to a range of issues, there are 45 beds in operation. As of 12 May 2026, the waiting list nationally to access CAMHS inpatient units was one. Of the available 45 inpatient beds, 36 were occupied on 12 May, leaving nine beds available to accommodate an admission. It is important to stress that there has not been an occasion since the reduction in operational beds nationally to 45 when all available beds have been occupied. I am really concerned, especially about Deputy Clarke’s narrative. There is a reason this has been looked at and she did not refer to that at all, that is, the unit's restricted age cohort of 15 to 17 years; the fact a child can only be referred to the unit on a Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the lack of an appropriate eating disorder pathway; the concerns raised by the Mental Health Commission; staffing constraints, including reliance on a single full-time consultant; and, most importantly, unsuitable physical infrastructure where the current building is no longer fit for purpose. I am trying to open public beds here. I am trying to stop spending money on private beds. I look forward to staff being hired. I hope some of the staff will move across to the excellent Linn Dara site. Please God, we will get the beds open as soon as possible.

Sentiment score: 0.04