James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is 25 years since Ireland signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The statistics show that of the 8,000 on the waiting list, almost 6,000 are children, with in the region of 2,000 waiting for more than a year for primary care psychological services. That was at the end of June 2017. It is fair to say that figures like those are clear evidence that there is a crisis in the provision of mental health services for children in the community. The fact is that almost one in three children is waiting for an appointment for more than one year. It is simply unacceptable that children have to wait for that length of time to get their first appointment just to assess where they are at or what supports they need.

Vulnerable children and teenagers need the service and there is an obligation to provide it. We know there are significant regional variations across the country depending on where one is. There is effectively an Eircode lottery. In County Wexford, 230 young people have been waiting for more than a year. Cork has 456 young people in the same category and Galway has 208. There are similar lists across the country. Could the Minister of State address some of those key points?

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