The MHC is currently developing new National Standards for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
The development of the State’s first national standards for CAMHS follows a request made in May 2025 by the Minister for Mental Health, Mary Butler TD, to improve the quality and consistency of care. The standards aim to ensure that all children and young people in Ireland can access safe, effective, and evidence‑based mental health services.
CAMHS is a specialist service providing assessment and treatment for children and young people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties. The Mental Health Act 2026 establishes a comprehensive legal framework for CAMHS, modernising services and ensuring care respects the human rights of young people.
Key provisions include:
- Regulation of community CAMHS: The MHC, which currently regulates inpatient approved centres, will extend its oversight to community‑based CAMHS. These services will be subject to inspection, monitoring, and enforcement.
- Consent for adolescents: The Act allows 16- and 17‑year‑olds to consent to or refuse treatment, supporting their involvement in decisions about their care.
- Focus on youth mental health: A dedicated section addresses the care and treatment of children and young people, promoting a person‑centred approach that respects autonomy and individual needs. It introduces additional safeguards for those who may be detained, statutory care plans for inpatient settings, and stronger oversight of restrictive practices.
The Act also requires the MHC to develop Codes of Practice on:
- Assessing the capacity of a young person aged 16 or over to consent to care and treatment
- Admission, with parental consent, where a young person lacks capacity
- Criteria for involuntary admission to an acute mental health centre
These Codes apply to 16- and 17‑year‑olds receiving inpatient care.
The MHC aims to ensure the standards are person‑centred, holistic, multidisciplinary, and recovery‑oriented. They are being developed with input from an expert advisory group and stakeholders, including people who have used CAMHS, families, advocates, and mental health professionals. The consultation process will gather input from service users, families, carers, professionals, organisations, and the wider public, with a strong focus on the voices and lived experiences of young people.
The standards will apply to both inpatient and community services.
Expert Advisory Group
As part of the overall consultation process, we have and will continue to engage with a wide range of individuals and organisations. As part of this, we have set up an Expert Advisory Group (EAG). The members of this group are listed on the Consultation Tracker below.
The EAG met in November 2025, March 2026 and May 2026. There will be further meetings throughout the year at key milestones.
Focus Groups and Interviews
As part of this consultation, interviews and focus groups have been completed.
These were delivered in partnership with a third‑party facilitator and involved over 100 participants. Their involvement supported an accessible, person‑centred approach and helped create a safe and inclusive environment for people to share their experiences.
We are also reviewing examples of quality initiatives in services. We would still welcome input from services and are interested in learning about good practice, including through potential site visits.
Evidence Review and Consultation update
We partnered with Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) to carry out an evidence review and analyse the consultation survey. The evidence review examined the literature on CAMHS, including:
- international patterns in the prevalence of mental health problems among children and young people
- research on the provision of CAMHS
- country specific examples of policies, standards and guidance
- dedicated sections on capacity, parental consent and involuntary admission
The public consultation survey gathered views on how to improve the quality and consistency of mental health services for children and young people, and QUB completed the analysis of the 670 responses received. The findings from both the evidence review and the consultation analysis will inform the development of the Standards.
Following the request from the Minister, the MHC developed a project plan, established a project team, and allocated resources necessary for the development of Standards.
The MHC identified groups and individuals with interest and expertise in mental health services for children and teenagers including individuals who have used CAMHS, families, advocates, and staff working in mental health services.
The MHC contracted Queens University Belfast to research the evidence of national and international best practice in delivering mental health services to children and young persons, and to review the relevant literature.
The evidence review has been received and is now completed.
The MHC invited experts by experience, mental health professionals, service providers, advocates, and policy makers to support the development of standards (first meeting of the group took place on 5 Nov 2025, the second in March 2026 and the third in May 2026)
Expert Advisory Group Members
Adrian Carroll, Senior Policy Officer, AsIAm (Disabled Persons’ Organisations representative)
Anne O'Mahony, Principal Officer, Child Rights Policy Unit, Department of Children, Disability and Equality
Caoimhe Nic Aodha, Expert by lived experience, Expert by lived experience
Cormac Quinlan, Assistant National Director, Practice Reform and Change, Tusla
Deirdre Connolly, Programme Manager, National Standards for Health and Social Care, HIQA
Donan Kelly, Assistant National Director, National Mental Health Office, HSE
Dr Andy Phillips, Regional Executive Officer, HSE Southwest
Dr Brian Osborne, Assistant Medical Director – Mental Health, Irish College of General Practitioners
Dr Joana Correia, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Roscommon/East Galway CAMHS, HSE West and Northwest
Dr JP Nolan, Head of Compliance, Assurance & Regulatory Affairs, HSE
Dr Louise Rooney, Policy and Research Manager, Mental Health Reform
Dr Mark Smyth, Senior Clinical Psychologist, HSE (Psychological Society of Ireland representative)
Dr Peter Dineen, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, (College of Psychiatrists of Ireland representative)
Eoin McEvoy, Expert by lived experience, Expert by lived experience
Jane Long, Regulation Officer, Jersey Care Commission
Jason Smith, Social Worker and Clinical Director, Jigsaw
Jennie Synnott, Area Director of Nursing, HSE CAMHS Southwest
Muireann Vaughan, Expert by lived experience, pharmacist and PhD researcher, Expert by lived experience
Catherine Gibson, Assistant Principal, Mental Health Policy Unit, Department of Health
Sinead Gernon, Senior Social Worker and Family Therapist, Lucena Clinic (Irish Association of Social Workers representative)
Sinead Keane, Chief Executive Officer, SpunOut
Siobhán O'Dwyer, Chief Executive Officer, YAP Ireland
Tanya Ward, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Rights Alliance
Dr Amanda Burke, National Clinical lead for Child and Youth Mental Health, HSE
The MHC launched a public consultation on 14 October 2025 that ran for six weeks. We engaged with key organisations and advertised the consultation on a variety of channels. We encouraged everyone to share your views, by filling in a survey.
There was a very high rate of return on the responses which will now be analysed and incorporated into the development of the standards. All responses to the survey will remain confidential and anonymous.
The consultation closed at 5pm on 28 November 2025
The MHC is partnering with Youth Advocate Programmes Ireland, Spun Out, Jigsaw, AsIAm, the Childhood Development and Vision Ireland to learn and incorporate the perspective of children who experience mental health services in Ireland.
In-depth interviews and moderated group sessions with selected experts by experience, mental health professionals, service providers, advocates, and policy makers.
Following the analysis of national and international best practice, literature, and policy, as well as input from the public consultation, focus groups, and consultation with children, the MHC will develop and publish a first draft of national standards and codes of practice.
The MHC has published draft standards and these standards are currently out to public consultation seeing views.
Consultation closing deadline extended to 5pm on Monday 7 September 2026.
Link to draft standards
The final National Standards for CAMHS will be published and launched.
