James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State's response. There does need to be a type of one-stop shop for a first appointment so that a person can be put onto the correct list. Children are waiting ages for the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, only to be told they should have been on the CAMHS list. Likewise, children are waiting for ages on the CAMHS list only to be told they need to be somewhere else. I am aware of a parent who is terrified that their child will be diagnosed with autism because they are getting the supports they need within CAMHS but if the child is diagnosed with autism, they will be ripped off the list and put onto another list in respect of which the supports are not available. We need a child-centred approach whereby children are given first assessments and are at least put onto the right list and then given the appropriate supports. Currently, we have different lists and nobody is talking to anyone else and children wait sometimes for up to three years for a first appointment, which is simply unacceptable.

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