Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has raised a valid point. Since I came into this role, I have had several discussions with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, regarding CAMHS waiting lists. There are currently more than 2,230 children waiting for such services. However, in the past seven months or eight months, CHO 4 has taken a proactive approach. Part of the waiting list, especially on the Kerry side, was associated with a key consultant vacancy. The CHO put in place a Saturday clinic facilitated by local CAMHS consultant cover to target the waiting list. Having spoken to the chief officer of CHO 4, which covers counties Cork and Kerry, in the past week, I can confirm it has secured a second consultant psychiatrist in CAMHS in Kerry on a temporary basis. The CAMHS teams in Cork and Kerry are both now fully populated in terms of psychiatrists and they are working at full tilt. We are working with them to reduce the waiting list as a matter of priority. From what I can see, CHO 4 has always been problematic in terms of it always having quite a high number on the CAMHS waiting list. I am adamant that I will have that waiting list reduced.

See this speech in context