Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State and I could speak for the rest of the evening about the lack of adequate mental health services for young people in Longford-Westmeath. I want to give the Minister of State a specific example of the impact this has. Cillian is a 14-year-old boy in second year. When he was in third class he was given a psychology follow-on referral from his GP because of concerns raised by the school. He went to multiple appointments; his mam was told they would be in touch but that never happened. Today the HSE is categoric in its stance that those meetings never took place and that Cillian has been on their books since 2019, not 2016. Despite repeated pleading, Cillian has not received one psychology assessment in all of those years since he was in third class. The family has been told he is on a waiting list. This is actually contradicted by a reply to a parliamentary question that I received recently. This young man has a family who are doing all in their power to help him, a school that is doing all in its power to help him. What Cillian actually needs is urgent professional assistance. Literally years of this young man's life have passed him by. If this continues, Cillian will age out of the programme. What is going on here? It is absolutely detrimental to this family. If it was not so serious it could also be almost laughable because it just beggars belief.

In a reply I got back in November regarding a long-vacant psychology post in Longford, the HSE actually attempted to criticise potential candidates because they may want to live in more urban, larger areas. That is not an excuse for not being able to fill a post. It is certainly not a reasonable excuse. At the very core of this and of these waiting lists that are entirely unacceptable is the accompanying issue of staff resources and supports for those in the positions where we desperately need them.

Cillian is not alone. Thousands of young people are facing unacceptable delays in accessing care. Over 9,500 young people are awaiting psychology and 588 of them are in my constituency. The HSE cannot continue to use Covid as an excuse for the delays in treatment. This is reflective of years of underinvestment and a lack of priority and provision given to the mental health service. The system was in crisis before Covid; it is now much, much worse. I am asking the Minister of State to act urgently for children like Cillian and all those who require services.

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