Claire Kerrane: Reinstate Ballinasloe CAMHS for 1,800 Children
Claire Kerrane raises the situation of 1,800 children in Roscommon and Galway waiting to see a psychologist and urges the reinstatement of the Ballinasloe CAMHS team as a business case is submitted this year. She highlights that over 1,000 children have waited a year and that the previous CAMHS closure forced families to travel 80 to 90 kilometre round trips for appointments.
Immediate ask: Claire Kerrane asks the Minister to ensure that, once the business case is submitted, the dedicated CAMHS team for Ballinasloe is reinstated as soon as possible. She stresses the impact on families and the backlog of children waiting for assessment and treatment.
Scale of the problem: There are around 1,800 children on lists across Roscommon and Galway and more than 1,000 have waited a year. The previous CAMHS service closure meant parents had to travel long distances to Roscommon for appointments, increasing pressure on families.
Minister's response: Minister Buckley responded that most children on the waiting list are waiting for primary care psychology rather than CAMHS, outlined visits to over 21 teams to assess challenges on the ground, and said a waiting list initiative for primary care psychology will run this year.
Consequences and next steps: The exchange underscores the distinction between primary care psychology and specialist CAMHS funding and the urgent need to reduce waiting lists. A business case for a dedicated Ballinasloe CAMHS team is due this year; Claire Kerrane seeks rapid reinstatement to relieve families and local services.
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Go raibh maith agat, Ciann Comhairle, Taoiseach, Minister of the 1800 children in Roscommon and Galway waiting to see a psychologist. Over a thousand of them have waited for one year. A business case is being submitted for a dedicated CAMHS team in Ballinasloe this year. The CAMHS team that was there previously, that service was closed and parents have had to trek an 80 to 90 kilometre round trip to Roscommon for appointments. I want to ask you that when this business case is submitted that the dedicated CAMHS team for Ballinasloe is reinstated as soon as possible. Thank you. Minister Buckley. Thank you very much, Deputy, for raising this really important issue. Primary care psychology and the CAMHS teams are two separate things, as you know. You understand that. The majority of the children on the waiting list are for the primary care psychology team. They're not for the CAMHS team. What we're trying to do is we're trying to reduce the amount of children waiting for CAMHS, obviously. I visited over 21 teams in the last six months to see what we could do to support the teams on the ground. There's a lot of cultural issues. There's a lot of different challenges across different teams. No two teams are the same. In relation to your specific question, there will be a waiting list initiative this year for primary care psychology to try and remove as many children as possible off that list. It doesn't technically, believe it or not, come under the mental health budget, but I am putting a complete focus on it because it has a knock-on effect on the CAMHS teams. Thank you. Deputy Gogarty.
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