Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is right. I fully agree. The Deputy will be aware that only 2% of young people referred for mental health supports actually need CAMHS. We spend 90% of our time talking about CAMHS but it is actually for only 2% of the population. There is some good news in that more than 90% of urgent referrals are seen within three days. That is important. However, as we have discussed, more is needed to hit the targets. Much quicker referral is needed. The answer is in youth mental health and in expanding psychology and counselling within primary care teams, disability teams and CAMHS. Significant money has been allocated within this budget. A portion of the 6,000 staff are specifically allocated to youth mental health. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is determined that the new assistant national director roles, the focus on youth mental health and the several hundred additional staff hired towards the end of last year will result in us seeing some of that. We also have some longer term solutions in place. Something the Deputy has called for before is for some of the PhD psychology posts to get proper supports. That is also happening in respect of counselling psychology.