Health Strategies
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-22
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Mary Butler (FF), Waterford

To expand on the point I was making, I have adopted a youth mental health strategy which started two years ago. It is called the "no wrong door" approach. It connects young people who have a mental health difficulty with the most appropriate level of care to match that young person's needs. Referrals to CAMHS are up 48% in the past five years. We know that many young people could be treated earlier and more effectively. We are triaging it in three areas: north County Dublin, the Inishowen Peninsula and Galway. The one in north County Dublin is led out by Mellany McLoone, the integrated health area lead. She has been doing this for two years. When a child is referred by a GP, they are triaged. They look to see if the child might be better served with Foróige or a family resource centre such as Jigsaw, or a similar service like Mindspace Mayo, primary care psychology or maybe CAMHS. However, the most important thing is that a doorway will be found. Every parent who brings their child to the doctor wants a doorway.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:32+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-22