Mental Health Services
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-15
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Mary Butler (FF), Waterford

I am hearing the Senator loud and clear. There is only a short time but there are two things I want to address now. The reply that has been provided also outlines the supports that are available in Kildare, which I will put on the record of the Seanad. Kildare In Sync provides a wide range of youth and family services. The Naas Child and Family Project is part of In Sync youth and family services. In Sync also provides youth counselling service to 11 to 25-year-olds, and supports the LGBT community. It is important to say that there are supports there. I visited the CAMHS teams in Linn Dara last year and want to compliment the really good work that is going on.
In relation to any proposal, a proposal for a new location requires a detailed business case, a premises, support from the regional HSE management, and the necessary funding to resource the staffing of the service. That is where I come into it and what I will be trying to do. Any new proposal also requires agreement from the HSE national child and youth mental health office, which I work very closely with in the context of agreeing new service priorities. The whole focus now as we deliver services across Ireland is from a heat map of geographical locations pinpointing the areas that do not have a particular service. That is what I want to do.
I look forward to working closely with the Senator on this because I recognise, appreciate and acknowledge that it is crying out for a youth mental health service such as Jigsaw in her area.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:16+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-15