Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. As the Deputy knows, we have CAMHS teams throughout the country, and more than 820 people work in the service. During Covid-19 we saw unprecedented levels of extra referrals, up by 33%, but we have responded by seeing 21% more children than ever before. Last year, for example, 225,000 appointments were issued to young people in CAMHS. The Deputy spoke about a five-year wait for an assessment of need. There is no assessment of need for CAMHS; that wait must relate to disability. With multidisciplinary teams, 95% of all young people are responded to within 72 hours. If the Deputy wishes to give me the details of that particular case, I will see if I can help him out with it.

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