3061. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health to give a State apology to the hundreds of families and individuals whose lives were ruined as a result of the CAMHS Scandal, through mismedication and misdiagnosis in both North and South Kerry. [54453/26]

The Deputy will be aware that the Maskey Report published in 2022 examined deficits in relation to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in South Kerry. The review identified that 240 young people did not receive the standard of care they should have from CAMHS. The HSE issued a public apology and offered meetings to all affected in South Kerry. The Government also introduced a non-adversarial route for children and their families to seek compensation for the shortfall in care received. I initiated the North Kerry Lookback Review following the publication of the Maskey Report in 2022 in relation to CAMHS in South Kerry. The HSE published this latest Lookback Review on 18 February 2026. Again, the HSE issued a public apology to the young people and their families affected in North Kerry, including in letters to impacted families.

My priority since I initiated the North Kerry Lookback Review has been the best interests of the children, young people and their families and to have this report published as quickly as possible. Throughout the Lookback process all young people and families have had access to on-going support, including the open disclosure helpline and a Clinical Liaison Support Team. During the review, any young person whose file showed major or moderate potential for harm in the care provided to them was invited to an individual Open Disclosure meeting. These meetings offered families an opportunity to hear the findings of the review of their file and to give feedback on their experience of the service and to receive an apology directly from the HSE for the deficits in care.

As I have indicated on several occasions since the publication, I was seriously concerned with the findings of this report. However, I am satisfied that HSE South West has taken the necessary steps to address the deficits in care experienced by children and young people as highlighted in this report and in the Maskey review. Given that there is now increased governance, regular care and prescribing audits, standardised practice and a dedicated workforce, I am assured that the service now is significantly improved and that the necessary safeguards have been put in place to ensure that similar risks do not happen again. On 26 March last, I approved a scheme to provide compensation to children and young people in North Kerry who were identified as having suffered harm in the Review. Importantly, in extending the existing South Kerry compensation scheme, I also ensured that it covers any young person who may become eligible as the HSE undertakes a further file review. I wanted to guarantee that if a young person is identified as having suffered harm through the review of their file, they can apply to the scheme immediately.

As I have indicated previously to the Deputy, given that the HSE has apologised on various occasions in the past in relation to Kerry CAMHS, including most recently by the HSE CEO on the 18th February last, a State apology is not envisaged while the further file review in North Kerry is ongoing.

The Deputy can be reassured, however, that I will continue to work closely with the HSE Child and Youth Mental Health National Office to drive reform of CAMHS nationally to ensure that this key specialist service which benefits so many young people and their families each year is safe, accessible, child-centered, and delivered to the highest of standards.