Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is more than welcome to the Chamber. I want to put on the record my correspondence in the past 24 hours from the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, who contacted my office. She said she is taking questions in the Dáil today and is unavailable to attend this debate. I acknowledge that.

This is a very serious issue. I ask for an update on child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, in the Cork-Kerry region, community healthcare organisation, CHO, 4. The CAMHS issue in Cork and Kerry is beyond belief. The need in the community is frightening in many ways. Parents, teenagers and children have come to my office weekly to ask for an update on when they can get appointments.

When I began researching the current waiting lists in CAMHS in the Cork-Kerry region, it frightened me. There are 888 children looking for services in the region. That comprises approximately 20% of the entire national profile. Over one year, 343 children and teenagers, or 50% of the entire national waiting list, is in the Cork Kerry region. That is unbelievable. In the north Dublin city area, nobody is waiting. It is frightening that Cork-Kerry has a waiting list of 50%, but in one part of Dublin there is nobody waiting.

Politics is one thing. These are people who are under enormous stress and pressure. A lady came to me a few weeks ago to tell me her daughter has not gone to school this year. She is waiting for an appointment. She is on a long-term waiting list and is considered to be a priority. She is in second year. I am pulling my hair out to see what we can do for the family. Other families have been through bereavement, eating disorders and depression. It is the tip of an unfortunate iceberg. If people do not get interaction at this stage, unfortunately the trouble only builds and goes further. I am deeply concerned about this waiting list. For one region to have over 50% of the long-term waiting list creates a major problem for me.

The Mental Health Commission published a report which stated that roughly 431 extra posts are required to cover the service nationally. The issue in the Cork-Kerry region needs to be examined. We need to have a serious look at our staffing resources nationally. Is it now time to start redeploying personnel? There are ten CAMHS teams in Cork, not all of which are fully staffed. There is a serious lack of personnel to deliver services on the ground.

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is very concerned about this issue. I hope to meet her in two weeks' time to see whether we can get a plan in place to deal with this issue. I have no issue with Dublin having nobody waiting more than 52 weeks. However, 50% of the waiting list being in the Cork-Kerry region means there is a regional issue that needs to be addressed. I look forward to the Minister of State's response. We need to start a real debate. Staff need to be redeployed. There needs to be a completely different ethos nationally with regard to how we deal with the Cork and Kerry region. If there is not, this waiting list, in particular for those waiting more than 52 weeks, will continue.