Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not disagree with anything the Deputies have said. Everybody has the best interests of every child who is on a waiting list and every child who needs to get into one of the approved centres at heart. Everybody feels the same. I am a mother and I feel the exact same. There is not a family in Ireland that, whether directly or indirectly, has not been affected by mental ill-health.

Regarding the figures, last year the referrals into CAMHS increased by 5,177 to 22,600, which was unprecedented. In the same period, the new referrals seen also increased by just under 2,000. On the waiting list for CAMHS, the figure up to March is 3,443. We managed to take 500 off the list from the previous month.

Regarding primary care psychology, Deputy Ward stood opposite me previously and quoted figures of 10,000. They are now down to 8,000. I was able to get 1,600 children off the list by a targeted approach before Christmas, and secured another €5.5 million this year to keep that going. I am meeting with the primary care psychology team next week to see where we are at. My focus is on those waiting more than 12 months because, as the Deputy rightly said, early intervention is key. Nobody can disagree with that.

Overall, 91% of children who present to CAMHS and who are complex and really in need of support - they may be suicidal, it may be self-harm or whatever - are seen with 48 hours but the problem we have is that there are long waiters who are pushed down the list. There is a targeted approach ongoing at present to reduce waiting lists for CAMHS and the target is focused specifically on those waiting more than 12 months. Currently, 9% of children are waiting longer than 12 months. I hope the next time I stand before the Deputies that figure will be much less than 9%. I will keep them informed. I will be working on this on a daily basis.

Deputy Bríd Smith stated that I said at the start I was informed on 11 May. I was made aware unofficially in the few weeks preceding that that there were challenges relating to staff.

See this speech in context