Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a crisis in children's mental health services in Cork and Kerry. A total of 60% of all children on waiting lists for CAMHS appointments for more than one year are in Cork and Kerry - 60% in just two counties. Hundreds of children experiencing severe mental health issues are on a waiting list while their parents and loved ones watch their condition deteriorate. A mother contacted me recently. Her child was refused access to CAMHS twice. In December, she was finally accepted and was told that she would be waiting 13 months to get an appointment on the priority list. Her child has not attended school for two years. She wrote "I am begging ye". She is at her wits' end. Could someone help her and her child? Could someone help and support them? Another lady contacted me whose child was refused access to CAMHS three times. When she was eventually accepted on to the list, she was told that it would take two and a half years to be seen. When she contacted me, she wrote that her family was in crisis.

These are just examples of the countless cases with which I and others are dealing. These children will be adults some day. What will happen to them after they have been failed? Often the initial referral is for a minor issue, but because there is no support and nobody to help them, their anxiety escalates and their depression grows.

Parents fight tooth and nail for their children but they are meeting a dead end when it comes to CAMHS in Cork and Kerry because the waiting list is so long. More than 1,000 children are on the CAMHS waiting list in Cork and Kerry and one third have been waiting more than a year. Do the Ministers of State realise how long a year is for a child in crisis? Do they realise how distraught the parents are when they look at their children and cannot help them? This Government is talking about early intervention and providing resources, but they need it now. They need it today.

We need an urgent intervention in CAMHS in Cork and Kerry. We have seen scandals and apologies but this Government has failed to deliver. It has failed the children of Cork and Kerry 100% when it comes to CAMHS. People do not want apologies. They want this Government to put the money, therapists and supports in because, God forbid, there are children who are at serious risk.

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