A Kerry TD says Dr Maya Sharma who exposed the CAMHS scandal should be given Irish citizenship.
The consultant psychiatrist revealed the over-medicate and inappropriate treatment of patients at South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
Dr Maya Sharma’s disclosures resulted in two independent reviews into South and North Kerry CAMHS which validated her concerns.
The reviews found hundreds of children and teenagers were harmed or put at risk of harm because of unsafe practices.
The HSE also undertook a national audit of CAMHS teams.
Dr Sharma was at Leinster House this week to mark World Whistleblowers’ Day.
Kerry Fianna Fáil TD Michael Cahill says he was honoured to meet the doctor who had shown such courage and had acted on benefit of vulnerable young people and their families.
He says she deserves to be granted Irish citizenship.
Dr Maya Sharma, who settled a lawsuit she’d taken against the HSE, had been living homeless in London; and said she was unable to find work.
She said her reputation as a whistleblower made it impossible to find work in any publicly-funded service.
In April, an Irish Medical Council panel approved her reinstatement to practise as a psychiatrist.
Dr Sharma hopes to return to Killarney to open a private practice for children, which would charge clients on a sliding scale based on income.
