West Cork CAMHS crisis
Deputy Collins says West Cork CAMHS is in crisis with severe staff shortages and the risk of no service at all if the psychiatrist retires early. The Tánaiste says he will raise the matter with the responsible Minister of State and notes rising CAMHS referrals nationally.
The CAMHS service in west Cork is now in a state of crisis. The entire service is operation with just one psychiatrist and there is no psychologist. There is no mental health nurse, no social worker and no therapist on the team. These roles are essential to any functioning CAMHS service. For years, the HSE has claimed to be recruiting. Yet, no staff have ever been appointed. The situation now is so serious that the sole psychiatrist, who is due to retire in the coming years, may retire early due to the overwhelming pressure. That would leave no CAMHS service at all in west Cork.
Recently, a GP urgently referred a 14-year-old experiencing suicidal thoughts, only to be told that the psychiatrist already had 17 emergency cases ahead of them with no timeframe for assessment. What immediate actions will the Government take to stabilise CAMHS in west Cork, ensure urgent recruitment across all professional roles and guarantee that vulnerable children are not left without any mental health services?
Comment on this
I thank Deputy Michael Collins for raising this important issue, which I know he regularly raises. I will specifically speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, about the issues in west Cork and what further actions can be taken there on the issues the Deputy raised. Evidence shows that around 2% of children and young people should require the support of CAMHS but referrals are continuing to increase every year for the service. Referrals to CAMHS increased from 17,436 children in 2020 to over 29,000 in 2025. It is an increase of almost 70% in referrals in six years. That is an insight into the level of pressure and challenge that exists as well.
We have seen CAMHS very significantly increase its acceptance of referrals. It accepted about 16,600 referrals last year, which was 14% more than the previous year. There are now 81 community teams which delivered over 231,000 appointments last year. There has been an increase in funding as well. There was €181 million allocated last year and a further €10 million has been allocated this year, leading to a ring-fenced budget of €190 million.
I know there are real challenges. Sometimes, those challenges are on recruitment. On foot of the Deputy raising it here today, I will specifically ask the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who I know is very passionate about this area, to engage directly with the Deputy too.