Sinn Féin spokesperson on Mental Health, Mark Ward TD, has described as unforgivable the government’s failure to live up to its commitment to prioritise mental health care during their near five-year term in office.

He said that there are real life consequences for the negligent failing to regulate Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and, as a result, the government cannot provide guarantees to families and young people that the scandals that have occurred in CAMHS will not happen again.

The Dublin Mid-West TD was commenting following confirmation by government that the passage of the Bill could now no longer proceed in the current Dáil term given the timeline for a General Election.

Teachta Ward said:

“The government has now confirmed that it will no longer be possible to complete the passage of the new Mental Health Bill 2024 in the lifetime of this government.

“This is an unforgivable failure from a government that has paid lip service to implementing the very necessary reforms of our mental health services for nearly five years now.

“The Mental Health Act 2001 is outdated, and there have been long-held and widespread calls, from service users and service providers, for it to be reformed.

“A commitment made by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party in the Programme For Government over four years ago to do so was nothing but an empty promise.

“People are sick and tired of empty words that never have any follow-through.

“There has been no urgency from the government on this. Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill started in 2021 and was completed in 2022.

“Over two years passed before they produced the legislation and, true to this government’s form, it was all too late for it to pass fully.

“Let’s be clear, there are real life consequences to this negligence.

“CAMHS now remains unregulated under the Mental Health Act 2001, and following the Maskey Report and the Mental Health Commission’s review into CAMHS, there are very real concerns that there is still no independent oversight or regulation.

“This means that the government cannot provide guarantees to families and young people that the scandals that have occurred in CAMHS will not happen again.

“I introduced legislation that would have regulated CAMHS but the government inexplicably kicked this down the road until November 28th, the day before the likely date for the General Election, in favour of their own Bill which they have now confirmed will not pass in time.

“Their gamble with young people’s mental health has not paid off, and it is those same young people who will lose out as a result.

“I am calling on the government to immediately regulate CAMHS before an election is called. Young people and their families cannot wait any longer for this to happen.

“If the government fails to do so, I am making a commitment that this will be prioritised by a Sinn Féin government.

“We have always been clear that mental health is a priority for Sinn Féin. People deserve a government that does more than just promise, they deserve one that will take action.”