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Thursday, 16 Jul 2026

Vol. 1090 No. 2

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Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions

Deputy Carol Nolan

The schools are out, summer is well and truly upon us, and for most families this will be an opportunity to enjoy spending time with their children or grandchildren. Others will watch the kids being able to spend more time with their friends.

For some families, however, this summer will be a continuous nightmare, and it will be spent trying to keep their teenage children from ending their own lives before they can access vital services. One of those families is in my constituency of Offaly. It involves a teenage girl who has been diagnosed with autism, ADHD, PTSD, depression and bipolar disorder. This young girl is self-harming, and her situation is now unfortunately at crisis level. Despite this, her mother - who is utterly heartbroken and distressed as we can all imagine - is fiercely protective of her child and determined to protect her at all costs. However, she has been informed by the Offaly child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, that her child will be waiting until at least the end of September or early October when she "could be offered an appointment". Offaly CAMHS has been told a number of times by this mother about the situation. I saw a copy of the letter and to say I was appalled is an understatement. I am appalled at the lack of urgency and empathy in this situation.

This girl cannot enjoy the sun or the holidays and her mother watches her continuously, utterly helpless as she is effectively abandoned by the State services that her daughter may not live to access. It is a form of cruelty beyond all description to force families to endure circumstances such as these. Many of us in this House are parents. What would we not do to help our teenage children?

What is happening in Offaly is not an isolated case. I know there are cases around the country as well. I have previously established that the midlands CAMHS area has the second highest waiting list in the State, with 1,006 children waiting for mental health treatment. The Government can speak about investment but until those funds translate into fully staffed multidisciplinary teams, families in Offaly will continue to experience a service that is overwhelmed, inaccessible and life-threateningly inadequate. As I said, I am appalled by the response of Offaly CAMHS in relation to this situation.

The Tánaiste

Go raibh maith agat, Teachta Nolan, for raising this important issue. I can see her genuine concern for the family that she is advocating for while also highlighting a broader issue. I also acknowledge her concern in relation to the response that family received from CAMHS. I want to address the broader issue but I suggest she provide that information to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I know she will do so. I will ask that the Minister of State engages with the HSE specifically in relation to that situation.

The Government is committed to this area. Nobody wants to hear of anyone experiencing the story the Deputy told in terms of a teenage girl with multiple diagnoses self-harming and in a difficult situation. I take the point that this does not help with the case the Deputy referenced but we are investing a lot in CAMHS and our mental health services. As of February of this year, we have seen around 72% of new or re-referred cases seen within 12 weeks. That is an increase of 6% over the same period last year. I am not saying there is not a lot more to do, as there is, but the number of young people being seen in a more efficient manner by CAMHS is thankfully increasing.

They reckon there are only around 2% of children and young people in the country who should require the support of CAMHS and 97% of urgent referrals are responded to within three days. That is an important point too. It may well not be the experience of what the Deputy said but that is the information I have available.

I do not think this case has been brought to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. It sounds as if it is particularly complex, and I do not say that in any way to pass the buck, but sometimes there can be clinical complexities. However, I ask the Deputy to link with the Minister of State, who is a compassionate and hard-working Minister of State as well.

Specifically, in relation to the CAMHS team in Offaly, there is a clinical whole-time equivalent of 8.6 on the team. It is a little bit below the national average of 8.9, so let us see what can be done in relation to that. I am told, however, that 100% of urgent referrals in Offaly are responded to within three working days. The team does have the second-highest open caseload in the region. I am told that is evidence of the complexities of the challenges. In other words, when CAMHS sees a young person, the file often remains open for a long period of time because of that ongoing need for care as well, and there are 96 children waiting for their first appointment with that team.

Will Deputy Nolan link with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler? I will speak to her today about it, and I know that she will highlight this specific issue with the HSE. On the broader issue, we will continue to resource CAMHS. We will spend over €190 million on it this year, which is an increase of 40% since 2022, but I accept that there is a lot more to do in this area.

Deputy Carol Nolan

I thank the Tánaiste for his response and assistance. I directly informed the HSE about this situation, and I received an acknowledgement, but I will reach out to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and, with the consent of the parent, will pass on all details.

My concern is that this is an emergency situation, and it was not treated as such in Offaly CAMHS. For any parent to be told that they may, or they could, get an appointment at the end of September-early October when their child is clearly in distress is not an emergency response, and it has not been treated as an urgent case.

The Tánaiste made the point that the staffing levels are not up at the national average of 8.9 but I ask that Offaly is prioritised in the upcoming budget in terms of staffing in Offaly CAMHS because I am sure we are going to have more cases like this if we do not act in time and are not proactive. I appreciate the Tánaiste's constructive response and his empathy in relation to this situation.

The Tánaiste

We are seeing more real complexity when it comes to our younger people and more and more of them with more than one clinical diagnosis. I am certainly no doctor or expert but from my engagement with many young people and parents this provides a real challenge, and it is one that needs to be met, in terms of how we meet the multiple needs across the multiple diagnoses. I do not know what happened in this situation, and I do not want to comment without knowing all of the details, although I take the Deputy at her word. However, it is clear that the system needs to know the difference between urgent and non-urgent referrals. According to the statistics, which were given to me, and I read out, urgent referrals are responded to within three days. However, what is classified as an urgent referral is an interesting question.

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, will work with the Deputy in relation to this complex individual case. More broadly, in the run-up to the budget on 6 October, the Government will work closely with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, on the issue of the resourcing CAMHS. I will ask them to take a look at the point the Deputy made in relation to Offaly, and come back to her directly.

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