Mr. Mark Darmody:

I made a number of suggestions to the Taoiseach. He conceded that they had not knocked on every door so he does not know the capacity. I put some pressure on him and asked if he could say what the exact capacity is, how many psychiatrists were available and if he had contacted them. I will be honest; this is where the emergency thing comes in. He said there would be union issues if they started knocking on people's doors. This is the problem. They are worried about union issues rather than the permanent damage caused to my son. They are putting some bureaucratic issue ahead of permanent damage to children. They are thinking about paperwork before permanently damaged kids, which is the problem I have with them at the moment. He deals with this as if it is like an office task; I see it as permanent damage whereby one of my sons will be in a nappy for the rest of his life because the State could not do its job. That is the reality for people. When they do not get a school place, permanent damage is caused. I am not sure why a person in a seat of authority, I am trying not to be personally critical but his actions are causing permanent damage to children. That is the starting point.

It could start by knocking on the door of the more than 4,000 psychologists: "This is a call to emergency, a call to action. We need you. I know you take weekends off. Can you please give us weekends for six months? Can we clear this backlog?" We have never gone to therapists. The HSE has no engagement with therapists. In south Tipperary, I brought therapists to the HSE and it now uses them for other people. Why do they not use parents to source people and put pressure on therapists and psychologists to do more?