New figures show that there were 7,485 people waiting for a primary care psychology appointment at the end of June 2017. And the stats reveal that 5,954 children and teenagers are on the list for an appointment, while 1,784 of them have been waiting over a year to be seen.
Fianna Fáil Mental Health spokesperson James Browne says the figures are "clear evidence of a crisis" in the provision of mental health services for young people.
“The fact is that almost one in three children waiting for an appointment has been on a list for over a year. It’s simply unacceptable that so many should wait so long. Vulnerable children and teenagers need this service and we have an obligation to provide it," Deputy Browne tells Hot Press.
“There are significant regional variations in these figures. My own county of Wexford has 230 youngsters waiting over a year, while Cork has some 456 in the same category. In Galway there are 208 waiting for these critical services.
“Growing up in Ireland today can pose enormous mental challenges for young people. As in so many areas, early intervention is critical and if we are seeing waiting times of over a year, our care services are failing. This is a crisis and we need to tackle it.”