This week I spoke to Maria from Kilkee. She has a 16-year-old son who is deeply depressed and has had suicidal ideation. She has had to go outside the county to get two private diagnoses in Dublin. Even then, she was still left contending with Clare's extensive waiting list. When her son eventually received an appointment, it was unfortunately cancelled the day before due to a red weather warning in February. She is still waiting for him to receive a replacement appointment, so I urge the Minister please to assist me in helping this family. As of February, there are eight vacancies in the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, in the mid-west. I welcome that three additional consultant child psychiatrists have been recruited in recent months, but a gap of eight is simply not good enough. Children in Clare are being forced to fight tor their lives against their own mental health problems and for parents this is a worry like no other. There is an underspend across the board. Can we please help these people and these families?

I am familiar with the pressure CAMHS are under in my part of the country as well across Cork and Kerry. We have seen a significant recruitment effort to bring in the skill sets needed to help young people who need that help. In most cases funding is not the issue here. It is about getting the people we need and the challenges we face in recruiting people with the necessary skills that are in demand across this country and across many other countries as well. I will ensure the specific issues the Deputy has raised are raised with the Minister and will see if we can get a response for the Deputy.