Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

Our children with additional needs deserve our unwavering support and immediate action. Over 15,000 children are currently waiting for an assessment of needs, which is a crucial step in identifying their health and educational requirements as outlined in the Disability Act 2005. Our system is failing these children and their families. The HSE projects that without additional funding and resources this waiting list could swell to over 25,000 by the end of the year. This is unacceptable. I highlight the incredible efforts of Cara Darmody, a 14-year-old campaigner who has taken a stand for her brothers Neil and John and all children with disabilities. Cara has bravely initiated a 50-hour protest outside the Dáil and has been joined by Opposition leaders to demand that the Government fulfil its obligations.

The HSE is legally bound to complete a full assessment within six months of receiving an application but only 7% of these assessments are completed on time. This delay is not just a bureaucratic failure but a breach of trust and a violation of our commitment to these children. In west Cork the waiting time is over 27 months once assessed. Children then have to wait for services and this can take four to six months. The child is losing nearly three years between waiting for assessment and getting services. This is generally 25% to 50% of their lives spent waiting for vital services. That has a severe knock-on effect on the life of that child.

The Minister, Deputy Foley, has acknowledged the broken state of our system and called for an all-of-government approach to streamline the process. This includes a recruitment drive for psychologists and elimination of unnecessary red tape. We must ensure every Department stops recommending an assessment of needs is required to access services. Cara and her father Mark have rightly called for this situation to be treated as a national emergency. They remind us that laws are being systematically broken and it is our duty to rectify this. How can we expect our youth to respect the law when we as leaders fail to uphold it? We must act now. We must provide the necessary funding and resources to ensure every child receives the support they need.

While I am speaking about waiting times, according to research mental illness accounts for 45% of the overall burden of disease in individuals between the ages of ten and 24. The research also found that the need for mental health support in this age bracket had risen by 50% in the last 20 years. I was recently contacted by a west Cork mother whose 14-year-old daughter had been referred to CAMHS in August 2024. She did not receive any help and this led to serious consequences, including multiple suicide attempts and escalating intervention from emergency services. The lack of early intervention by CAMHS led to higher costs and worse outcomes for this child and the case is typical of the vast majority of young adolescents needing mental health support. In this case the costs of early intervention CAMHS assessment, therapy, etc., is over €4,901 over four to six months. This includes occupational therapy, speech therapy and psychotherapy. Each intervention is proven to be effective and helps to prevent escalation. When CAMHS is not available, the costs skyrocket. In this specific case there were six accident and emergency visits costing €4,800, three Garda interventions costing €1,350, a child and adolescent regional eating disorder services appointment costing €1,000, and inpatient care costing between €112,500 to €180,000 for a stay of 90 to 120 days in the Éist Linn CAMHS inpatient unit.

The total for crisis care was between €122,750 and €190,000. This is up to 25 times more expensive than early intervention. If we look at the bigger picture, nationally over 4,200 children are currently on CAMHS waiting lists. In west Cork, 40% of the children on waiting lists have been waiting for over a year. If 10% of these children are escalated to crisis care, we are looking at an additional cost of between €49 million and €80 million annually, as opposed to just €2 million to €3 million for early intervention. I ask the Minister of State to intervene. Cara has been outside the door for 50 hours. It would be good to go out and talk to her and show her the respect she deserves.

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