Colman Noctor: Mental health services need urgent large-scale investment

Former colleagues working in Irish mental health services and Camhs appear to be at breaking point

Mental health investment must be a ‘make or break’ political issue.

Not a week goes by when I don’t hear someone complain about the standard of children’s mental health services in this country. It can be a teacher who is trying to manage a child in acute mental distress and is unable to access any support from services or a parent who has been on a waiting list for months on end as they see their child’s mental state deteriorate. My usual response is to empathise and say: “I know, it’s dreadful”

However, it has become increasingly hard not to agree with the critics given the recent South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Camhs) report and the Families for Reform in Camhs report. These come on the heels of the 2023 Mental Health Commission (MHC) Report, in which the then chief inspector Susan Finnerty stated that she “cannot currently provide an assurance to parents in Ireland that their children have access to a safe, effective and evidence-based mental health service”.