Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Cathaoirleach is calling me by the name of the head of housing in South Dublin County Council. I thank the Chair, Deputy Crowe, and the Minister. I was listening to the Minister's opening statement. I had to listen to it in the office because I was speaking in the Dáil and cannot be in two places at the same time. I notice there was no mention of mental health in the opening statement. I have a couple of questions.

What resources are in place to tackle the long waiting lists we have in child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS? Looking at the figures, since this Government came into office in 2020, the waiting list for a first-time assessment for CAMHS has almost doubled. Figures I got yesterday show that 434 children are currently waiting for a first-time assessment in CAMHS. That figure has gone up 3% in a month. The figures seem to be just going up and up. I listened to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and to the Minister himself and they both say they are going to tackle these waiting lists but I have not seen the evidence. We all know early intervention is key. There are 682 children waiting longer than a year for an appointment. I know the Minister will agree that is not good enough. That is my first question. How is the Government going to tackle these waiting lists and what resources are in place to do so?