Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy, for taking this debate. I have been highlighting the need to fast-track the appointment of a child psychologist in north County Roscommon for a number of months. It was one of the main points that I raised with the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, during a recent Oireachtas briefing for Members from Roscommon and Galway in light of the 36 Syrian children who will be seeking refuge in Ballaghaderreen in the coming weeks. An immediate appointment is also necessary for the children of County Roscommon who have been languishing on an ever-growing waiting list since last summer. I have tabled parliamentary questions on this matter and have had this matter listed for a Topical Issue debate. In recent days, the Department of Health has approved a replacement post and a panel is in place. This is welcome. The pressure paid off in the end. However, it is important that this vacancy be treated as a priority and filled as soon as possible.

Since many of the Syrian children coming to Ballaghaderreen will undoubtedly have suffered untold traumas, it is vital that the post be filled before they arrive in the first week of March. Thirty-six children will be included in the group of 82 Syrians. Of these, 13 are under four years of age, 19 are aged between five and 12 years and four are over 13 years of age. There is a child psychologist covering the south of the country, but none is covering the remainder. The child psychologist who was covering north Roscommon is on sick leave and the post has been vacant since before last summer.

Many Roscommon children are on the waiting list but are unable to access child psychological services. For example, a six year old boy was referred by his GP. After several weeks of phone calls, his parents finally received a call informing them that the psychologist looking after school-aged children had been on sick leave since last March and that a locumcould not be found. Officials could not say when the service would become available again, but they indicated that no children had been assessed since March and that the waiting list would be significant. The school decided that it would use the single assessment that it was allocated each year to secure services for the child. His school spent several weeks trying to find out when the assessment would take place, only to hear a few days before the Christmas break that no assessments would be offered to the school, as the psychologist was still on sick leave and no arrangements were being made for the post. The family is not asking for preferential treatment or to skip the queue. His parents just want to see him have access to the services that they contribute towards and that are supposed to be available in the public health care system.

Many of the Syrian children arriving in the county will have suffered a great deal of heartache and brutality. They will need the support of child psychological services. This issue must be addressed. While I welcome the panel's creation, we must fill the vacancy urgently for the young people of County Roscommon who desperately need this service. The list is growing. We must deal with that, as we do not want long lists in situations such as this one. The Minister of State will agree on the importance of having child psychological services.

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