Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2026
860. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of eliminating all CAMHS waiting lists in excess of 12-weeks; the additional WTE staff required; and the regional breakdown of those costs. [47724/26]
View answerGovernment has provided record funding of nearly €1.6 billion for mental health in 2026. CAMHS receives approximately €191 million annually, an increase of almost 40% over the past four years. A further €127 million is provided to NGOs, many of which focus on young people. Under Budget 2026, €10 million was provided to enhance services including to develop a new crisis response pathway for children and young people; to open two new early intervention youth mental health Jigsaw services; to support the digital single point of access for youth mental health services; to develop five new mental health Discovery Colleges for young people; to resource an additional specialist CAMHS eating disorders team and two new Mental Health of Intellectual Disabilities teams for children; and to open an additional 18 CAMHS acute inpatient beds.
Improving access to CAMHS and reducing waiting lists, particularly for those waiting longest, are being addressed on an on-going basis by the HSE. The issues raised by the Deputy continue to be progressed in the context of the significant new funding and staffing resources I have secured for youth mental health to best meet evolving service requirements. This includes the HSE developing a new Single Point of Access and more integrated care across relevant services for young people.
As the Deputy may be aware, I visited 21 CAMHS teams nationwide last year to meet with the Regional Executive Officers (REOs) and their staff to focus on improvements to all aspects of youth mental health care, including the specialist CAMHS service. I stressed the need to identify areas where increased activity is needed, and the potential for more innovative approaches to improve service delivery. I also highlighted the importance of filling all approved posts for each CAMHS team to ensure the most effective delivery of services.
I conveyed in my meeting with each Region that reducing the waiting list for CAMHS is one of my main priorities as Minister for Mental Health. The Programme for Government makes several commitments relating to CAMHS, including a commitment to providing additional resources to reduce CAMHS waiting lists.
I subsequently wrote to each REO and to the Chief Executive Officer of the HSE following my visits seeking a plan to improve access to CAMHS services. While significant improvement has been made on many fronts to enhance CAMHS care, particularly in the face of increasing demand and case complexity, the issues of improved access and regional variation need to be addressed as early as possible.
This is particularly the case in light of the significant additional funding I have secured for CAMHS over recent years, including under Budget 2026, and the emphasis I have placed on better outcomes for mental health in line with the HSE Service Plan 2026. The objective of improving access to care, and of reducing waiting lists, are also core elements of the three year HSE Child and Youth Mental Health Actional Plan published in February 2025.
I acknowledge that the ringfenced waiting list reduction funding of €3 million supported activity in excess of the targeted 1,250 removals across the six Regions. While this is positive overall, there is evidence that the funding allocated could have better targeted the removal of children and young people waiting for extended periods in some Regions. It is concerning also that the overall CAMHS waiting list nationally has remained persistently high, particularly for the HSE Dublin and North East Region and the HSE South West Region.
I therefore recently sought a detailed plan, inclusive of both national and regional targets, to reduce CAMHS waiting lists, including a greater focus on those waiting over 12 months. I requested that this plan be reported on, at a minimum on a quarterly basis, by the HSE to the Department, and should reflect core CAMHS resourcing and all additional waiting list funding provided in recent years. I expect to receive this plan from the HSE shortly, reflecting both national and regional approaches.
I, and the Government, fully appreciate the very significant improvements that have been made by all CAMHS staff over recent times and the real difference that this has made to many vulnerable children and their families. I will continue to work closely with the HSE to monitor CAMHS waiting lists over the remained of this year. I intend to further improve all aspects of youth mental health care under the forthcoming Estimates process for 2027.
