Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-09
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

I will add a little bit to what Senators Boyhan and Black have said. No one is saying that any of these bodies do not intentionally have the best interests of the child in their minds but the sad reality is so many children have fallen through the cracks, whether that is in the care sector or in CAMHS. They are, for various complicated, bureaucratic reasons - understaffing or whatever the reason might be - simply not having their needs at the centre of it. It is a point to highlight. No one is saying that is not inherently the intention of all these people in these clinical spaces. I am sure that is their intention but without that special advocate in place, that is simply not how things work in the push and shove of daily life with resources and staff being stretched in many contexts. It is simply not the systematic outcome particularly for children who do not have the ability to advocate for themselves because of their vulnerabilities.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-09