Tá ceist agam faoi na fadhbanna millteanacha atá ag páistí le fadhbanna meabhairshláinte san iarthuaisceart agus na liostaí feithimh fada atá i bhfeidhm ansin. I refer to the north-west region or CHO 1 as it is called in the HSE.

We have 204 children waiting for initial assessment in the child and adolescent mental health services. Sixteen of those are waiting for more than a year and a further six of them are waiting more than 15 months. I am sure the Tánaiste, like me and many others in this House, has spoken to some of the children but more so to the parents and friends of those children who are going through difficult times. For some of them it is depression, others anxiety, eating disorders or ADHD, while still others are self-harming. We know that the prevalence of self-harming in this State is dramatic.

The fact that children who are vulnerable have to wait for more than a year and in some cases 15 months for initial assessment is a complete and abject failure of this State to look after the welfare of those children. I ask the Tánaiste what he and the Government are going to do. We have 30% vacancies within CAHMS across the State. What is the Government going to do to ensure that those children and their families do not have to worry about their mental health anymore and that when they reach out for support from the State, it reaches back a hand of support to help them through their difficulties?

The answer to that question is to increase resources and to work with the HSE through its service plan to improve services. Clearly, services are not as good as they need to be in many parts of the country. Waiting lists are too long and we are working to reduce them with some positive results, certainly in the second half of last year. The instances Deputy Doherty outlined are examples of the need for reform, increased investment and increased staffing numbers in certain sectors to improve services, in particular for children.