Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have funded this year the additional staff required to develop the HSE psychosocial framework. The primary care list, which we all know is extremely long, is, as one Deputy said earlier, something I inherited but have been working on intensively. Currently, there are 12,000 under-18s on that list and 6,000 of them have been waiting over 12 months, which is not acceptable to me. I met with the HSE recently and with the primary care team. We are putting in place a 12-month approach to reduce the waiting list. I spoke to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, last week on the funding. I am hopeful that in the next three or four weeks, I will be able to bring forward a proposal that will significantly reduce that waiting list. People are quite right that GPs are putting children onto waiting lists. Some are going onto the CAMHS waiting list and some are going onto the primary care waiting list. When there is a child who needs these supports, people and parents cannot wait. As a parent, I understand that so I am working hard to devise a targeted approach to the waiting list, especially for those waiting over 12 months.

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