Vol. 530 No. 2
98 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health and Children his response to the concerns expressed at the meeting held in the Mater Hospital on youth suicide and the impact of the Mental Health Act in raising the age for admission to psychiatric hospitals from 16 to 18; his plans to meet the need for psychiatric care for persons under 18 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3415/01]
The Mental Health Bill, 1999, currently before the Oireachtas, provides for the involuntary detention of persons for psychiatric care and treatment. It provides for different legal procedures to be followed with regard to the detention of adults and of children under 18 years. It does not contain any provisions regarding the age for admission to psychiatric hospitals.
Children aged between 16 and 18 years are currently treated by the adult psychiatric services. The placement of children of this age in adult psychiatric facilities is increasingly seen as inappropriate. A working group has been established by my Department to review child and adolescent psychiatry and to finalise a plan for its future development. This group will also examine the service needs of persons between 16 and 18 years, in conjunction with experts from the field of adult psychiatry, to determine how these can best be addressed in the context of future service developments.
Suicide has become a serious social problem and is now the most common cause of death among 15 to 24 year olds. This year an additional £830,000 is being provided to health boards for suicide prevention and research. This includes an additional £100,000 for the National Suicide Research Foundation in Cork to support its work in the development of a national parasuicide register.
