Mental health services
Sir, -Kitty Holland reports Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler as saying the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) waiting list is now 4,200 (“ADHD referrals push out mental health waiting lists”, April 10th). This figure looks modest from where I sit as a general practitioner. Nine out 10 of my referrals get rejected by Cahms following a review of my letter but not the patient.
There is not a GP in the country whose heart doesn’t sink when a distraught parent requests referral for their child with psychological or psychiatric illness which may be wrecking the family.
Funding has increased by 17 per cent to €160 million in 2024. We have certainly seen no effect of that increase in general practice. In fact, there has been a collapse in confidence in Cahms from both GPs and patients. Most GPs like myself now come clean to patients about the poor state of the service.
When I refer a patient to a cardiologist or gynaecologist, I expect them to see the patient and for them to advise me on a course of action. In Cahms they seem to have a meeting to review GP letters and then send letters back saying it’s not suitable for them to see the child.
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This has become a service that has significant governance, professional and legal exposure that should have political consequences as well. Hand-wringing by Ms Butler, no matter how well intentioned, is just not good enough.
We have had successful initiatives in troubled areas of Irish medicine before where the minister of the day found a “czar” to whom authority, finance and political backing was given and confidence was built in services that led to better health. It is time for such an initiative again in children’s mental health. – Yours, etc,
DR TOM O’DOWD,
GPs at Tallaght Cross,
Russell Centre,
Tallaght,
Dublin 24.
Funding of primary schools
Sir, – I commend columnist Breda O’Brien (“Our schools’ finances are at breaking point”, Opinion, April 12th) for courageously highlighting the chronic underfunding of primary schools, coupled with the unsustainable burden on primary school leaders and the resulting damaging effects on their health.
Regrettably, the situation is as stark in post-primary schools. In the Deakin University study, cited by O’Brien, nearly 45 per cent of post-primary school leaders reported experiencing high to severe levels of burnout, while stress levels were higher than those of the general workforce.
Last year, in an Economic and Social Research Institute study on voluntary secondary schools, school leaders highlighted the considerable demands being placed on them across the multiplicity of roles they play – administrative, financial, human resources, industrial relations, infrastructural – and pleaded for greater administrative and leadership supports.
The three teaching unions will each hold their annual congress next week. It will be interesting to see how prominently on the agenda of each congress the pressures on school leaders – who are union members – will feature.
In recent years, successive education ministers have been tone-deaf on the issue of support for school leadership, giving no provision to reduce administrative workloads (quite the opposite), no new funding for additional deputy principals, and no specific measures to address the growing strain on leaders who are struggling to manage under-resourced systems.
In last year’s education budget, ministers acclaimed the increase in the basic capitation grant for primary schools from €200 to €224, which is the equivalent of an increase from €1.09 per student to €1.22 per school day, and in post-primary schools from €345 to €386 per student, working out at an increase of €2.08 per student to €2.33 per school day. This is paltry and is nowhere near enough.
The notion that schools in this country are adequately funded by the State is nonsense. The reality is that many schools are dependent on annual fundraisers like school lottos and financial support from sources like past pupils to assist with costs. All of which, by the way, exacerbates the divide between the schools who have and have not, because of the affluence and fundraising power of some schools compared to others.
It is time that the Department of Education and the Government get real about school funding and indeed school leadership, which is a critical part of the investment formula for our schools. Both have been neglected for too long. A crisis is looming. – Yours, etc,
JOHN McHUGH,
Principal,
Ardscoil Rís,
Griffith Avenue,
Dublin 9.
Straight white men
Sir, – I’d like to know why Jennifer O’Connell (“I’m sorry if my heart doesn’t bleed for straight white men”, Opinion, April 12th) needs to reference skin colour and sexual orientation when writing a piece about parental leave. The phrase “straight white men” seems to have been imported into Ireland from the United States as a way for certain people to flaunt their right-on credentials but all it ends up doing is antagonising people.
Thoughts of Brexit and Donald Trump’s election never fail to get the “biens pensants” middle classes clutching their pearls here in Ireland, but one of the driving forces behind these events was a pushback against people who break down society into groups to advance their own agenda. Identity politics never ends well. – Yours, etc,
PAUL WILLIAMS,
Kilkee,
Co Clare.
Boston and Berlin
Sir, – Despite the monstrous tariff aggression by US president Donald Trump, it would be a mistake for Ireland to make a zero-sum choice between Berlin and Boston (“Choice between Boston and Berlin is clearer”, Opinion, April 3rd).
Ireland should continue to play to its advantages as a small, highly educated, entrepreneurial island with active membership in the largest trading block in the world, and with unique links to the US because of 30 million Irish-Americans.
Yes, there are transatlantic differences marked by the dominance of feral capitalism in the US compared to a greater European commitment to equality and social democracy.
But most Americans and Europeans believe that the EU and US (and Canada) will be stronger through mutual trade and security agreements
For now, Ireland must step up and play the cards that we have in both Washington and Brussels to ensure a win-win for the people of both continents, despite the destructive antics of the current US administration. – Yours, etc,
TED SMYTH,
New York City,
New York.
A national spring clean
Sir, – April is National Spring Clean month across the country. Thousands of groups and individuals are getting together to clean up their streets, parks and waterways.
While it is a shame the litter is there in the first place, it is so inspiring to see people coming together for the greater good of their community and the environment. National Spring Clean’s social media is full of lovely photos of happy and hard-working volunteers making a difference. They are so inspiring.
I would really encourage everyone to register and get involved. You’ll be provided with litter pickers, bags and gloves. But you’ll also get a tremendous sense of achievement and pride after your work is done. Well done to all the volunteers, you are a credit to your local area and to this country. Let’s keep Ireland green and clean. – Yours, etc,
SIOBHÁN McDERMOTT,
Killester,
Dublin 5.
Long live newsprint
Sir, – Another advantage of the paper version of The Irish Times is that it can be easily read outside on a sunny day. Despite being developed in sunnier climes, this cannot be said of many devices with screens. That said, electronic devices are better than paper in wind and rain. Even if a thing has 1,001 uses, it’s no harm having alternatives to it. – Yours, etc,
COLIN WALSH,
Templeogue,
Dublin 6W.
