Mental Health Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Frankie Feighan (FG), Sligo-Leitrim

As the Deputy outlined, recruitment is challenging. We hope a solution can be found for Tom and his mother and for many children in that situation. The Government remains committed to strengthening CAMHS through sustained investment and improved workforce planning and targeted recruitment so that vacancies are reduced and children and young people can access the care they need as quickly as possible. The ambition to expand child and youth mental health services is delivering for children and young people. Budget 2026 continued the investment in early intervention with new services across the country. The programme for Government commits to a new model of care and pathway for primary care psychology for young people, which is in development. The aim is to intervene sooner and reduce the need for CAMHS intervention. This year will also see the establishment of a new specialist CAMHS eating disorder team and two new specialist CAMHS mental health with intellectual disability teams, and an increase in CAMHS inpatient capacity by 18 beds.
This is not all about new resources. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, completed a national tour of over 20 CAMHS teams and identified a series of necessary reforms to improve access to CAMHS, including a new dedicated ADHD pathway which is in development. The HSE is implementing a single point of access for children's primary care disability and mental health services, which will reduce inappropriate referrals and place the burden on services rather than families having to navigate a complex system. A no-wrong-door approach is also being trialled in youth mental health services in Donegal, Dublin and Galway to connect young people with services that can meet their needs if they are not deemed to meet the threshold for specialist CAMHS care. These developments, coupled with the existing wide range of HSE youth mental health services, will ensure children and their families can access care supports that make a real difference to achieving recovery.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-16