Dr. John O'Brien:

I work in Castleknock, an affluent area in Dublin, and within my practice there are three psychotherapists, although they are not there all the time. One of them is a child psychologist. If I need to access a service I can do so and I can do it reasonably quickly. I also have a talking relationship with the individuals who come. Three miles up the road in Mulhuddart, I have a good friend who does heroic work but she has psychology waiting times of 18 months, CAMHS waiting times of a year and CIPC waiting lists of five months. GPs will find the water level and if the service is needed they will be on the lookout for it. They will ask each other who does what and where it is and they are scrounging around to find whatever they can for the individuals concerned. This is bearing heavily on the poor and deprived and they are the people we are failing