Cahill Welcomes Commitment On Youth Mental Health Services For Tipperary

 

Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary Jackie Cahill has welcomed the announcement from Jigsaw Youth Mental Health Services that it is to grow its network and open new services in Co. Tipperary early next year.

Jigsaw will provide a range of intervention mental health services for young people aged between 12 and 25.

Deputy Cahill said, “Mental health services in Tipperary have been severely under resourced and understaffed in recent years causing much anxiety and frustration among service users and their families. In fact, young people from Tipperary have had to travel to Cork for treatment because there are no available beds at South Tipperary General Hospital.

“This government has presided over a shocking crisis in children’s mental health services. Thirteen years after the publication of A Vision for Change the services are still completely understaffed. We have a situation whereby children are still being admitted to adult units and waiting lists for CAMHS and other mental health services are too long.

“The announcement by Jigsaw is a very welcome one and will see much needed mental health and support services being made available in the community. However, we need to see the government invest much more in our mental health services.

“Last year Fianna Fáil secured an increased allocation of €55m for new mental health services as part of Budget 2019. This money must be used to increase staffing numbers in line with A Vision for Change and ensure that waiting times for Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services are greatly reduced”, concluded Deputy Cahill.