The purpose of this meeting is to consider the life cycle approach to mental health, particularly in the context of younger people. To enable the sub-committee to consider this matter, I welcome Dr. Joseph Duffy, CEO; Mr. Declan Whelan-Curtin, youth mental health promotion manager; and Mr. Conor Boksberger, regional clinical manager, Jigsaw; and Ms Sarah Hughes, mental health programme manager, Union of Students in Ireland.

….Deputy Neasa Hourigan: I have heard this described in addiction services as a "no wrong door" approach. No matter who someone asks first, that person sends them to the next person. No wrong door seems to be a good operating principle. 

I have a question for the USI on the addiction and substance abuse issue. I imagine that in the cohort the USI deals with, there is a higher level of addiction or substance difficulties. Could it outline how it is dealing with the issue of dual diagnosis, which is discussed a lot at the committee? Are there supports or planned supports for a particular cohort who might need those supports, such as people with disabilities, Traveller groups, or whoever they may be? 

Ms Sarah Hughes: Absolutely. One of the things we see is an increase not just in substance use but also in the struggle to manage substance use. Students who came of age during the pandemic and during lockdown are now that little bit older when trying substances for the first time and are doing so in different environments with different levels of peer pressure, and that kind of thing. 

Within the student mental health services on campus we would not have capacity to deal with that at all so it would be referral into HSE services or into the wider NGO sector……

...Ms Sarah Hughes: I largely agree with the points made. When we move away from focusing on a crisis model of care, we get to a point where we have fewer people in crisis.

We currently see that people joining the waiting list when they are in crisis are waiting months or years and getting more into crisis. It is more difficult to treat people when problems become much more entrenched. On the crisis side, there are a couple of specialist areas that need further investment and development, such as dual diagnosis and eating disorders, especially inpatient facilities for eating disorder patients and, in particular, those who require medical intervention and mental health intervention at the same time. There are a couple of areas like that which would benefit from further funding...