Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is what is required. The CAMHS waiting lists are too long but we are making progress on them. The list has reduced by 20% this year. The figure in August was 2,038, reduced from 2,517 in December 2018. The number waiting more than 12 months reduced to 201 in August, down from 314 in December 2018. The HSE service plan 2019 aims to improve CAMHS out-of-hours and seven-days-a-week cover, as well as provision for eating disorders, specialist services and prevention and early intervention services. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, has invested heavily in early intervention services to treat mental illness symptoms as early as possible, thus reducing the need to escalate cases to CAMH services. The number of CAMHS teams increased from 49 in 2008 to 70 today, as well as three paediatric liaison teams. In 2008, there were 350 whole-time equivalent clinical posts in CAMHS. That figure is now 645. We are investing in more people and better infrastructure. I accept that we are not where we need to be, but the charge that we are not prioritising this area for increased investment is simply not true.

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