Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I would like him to make a statement on the 6,000 children currently waiting for professional psychological services. He will be aware from his engagement with my colleague, Senator Freeman, of the demands on child and adult mental health services, CAMHS. I pay tribute to RTÉ for the recent "RTÉ Investigates" programme that was broadcast on this issue. It is a harrowing story. I met a woman in Dún Laoghaire by appointment last week who introduced me to her three children. She is having social housing difficulties. When she presented to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to discuss her housing application, she was told that she needed a professional psychologist's report. Most local authorities do not take GP letters into consideration. They require a letter from someone in the psychology field. While that costs money, more important, people have to wait. Politicians put their own hands in their pocket to pay for these reports because they are decent people and they want to assist their constituents to access professional psychological services in order that they can initially bring a report to the housing authority when they need help.

The "RTÉ Investigates" programme outlined many stories of families becoming desperate as they sought intervention, including assessments, for their loved ones. I have spoken to teachers who experience great difficulties with children. They have to call parents to come to the school to collect them. These parents need support. I constantly read about cases of juveniles involved in serious crime, including attempted murder, who did not get the resources and support they needed for many years. I do not doubt the Minister of State's commitment but if there is not early intervention for vulnerable children, what does the future hold for them and their families and our society?

I like to think that there will be a time every child will have a health and psychological assessment at least twice during the junior cycle. That happens in Canada and parts of the US. Children are assessed, not for benchmarking purposes, but to identify weaknesses, needs and supports and to put them in place. Will the Minister of State outline what is the plan going forward? It will be slow but something needs to be done. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation conference begins in Cork this afternoon. I spoke to an official earlier who mentioned patient trolley counts and said they should be published more regularly. The organisation is suggesting the number of children awaiting psychological services should be published on a monthly basis to hit the Government hard with facts about what is happening and that a formal count system should be put in place for social workers and children in care for whom a care plan is meant to be in place.

Clearly, the priority should be vulnerable children. The fact that 6,000 are waiting for services means we are at crisis point and something needs to be done about it. What is the Government's plan to address this significant issue?