Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is an appalling indictment to think that in 2023 so many children are in need of support throughout the State. This includes various levels of support, whether it is therapy or supports through CAMHS. They are being so severely failed. Of course, this is not a new issue. In my constituency, there are 247 children in CHO 2 across counties Roscommon, Galway and Mayo who are all on CAMHS waiting lists. These are children, who are very young in some cases, whose childhoods are being destroyed. Parents, in particular, loved ones and, in fact, the entire family are left to beg for support and services, and to feel helpless, as they watch their child or children struggle.

The question of how seriously this issue is being taken by the Government has to be asked. I saw a prime example of this in my constituency shortly after I was elected. The e-mental health hub in Castlerea was opened in June 2020 to great fanfare. It was a wonderful facility for older people but it was closed. They were sent here, there and everywhere away from their families. These were older people with dementia. Money was spent on the building and it was done up. In 2021, following many questions, I discovered no funding had been provided in 2021 to staff the facility. It was a fancy, done-up, empty building. That continued until funding was eventually announced late in 2021 after I repeatedly raised the issue. That service is now in place and is at long last fully staffed, which is welcome and will make a difference. That is what we are seeing on the ground. It is why I question how seriously this issue is being taken, when the State puts money into a facility and then does not bother to pay to staff it.

This report is frightening. It is a lot more frightening for those people who are affected by the issue, especially those on waiting lists. Children on waiting lists are being failed across the board. I looked at the waiting lists for psychologist appointments in counties Roscommon and Galway. Some 804 children are waiting. Of the 702 children on the County Galway waiting list, more than half are waiting more than a year. It is an incredibly appalling situation. Everything possible needs to be done to turn this around and get these children the supports they so desperately need and that they deserve.

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