A shocking revelation has come to light: children in Dublin are facing an astonishing wait of up to 13 years to access primary care psychology services. This critical issue, uncovered by RTÉ News, highlights a dire situation for young individuals struggling with mental health concerns.
The Primary Care Psychology Service serves as a vital first step for children experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues. It aims to intervene early, preventing the need for more intensive services like the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), which caters to those with moderate to severe mental health difficulties.
However, the figures paint a grim picture. Currently, over 28,000 children are on the waiting list, with more than 15,000 of them having waited over a year. In the northwest of Dublin, as of last August, children were facing an unimaginable 13-year wait for an appointment. The Health Service Executive (HSE) has since claimed to have reduced this wait time to 10 years, but the damage has been done.
One anonymous woman shared her story with RTÉ News, detailing her autistic daughter's journey. Despite being on the primary care waiting list for five years, the child never received the necessary psychological support and ended up in crisis, requiring CAMHS intervention. The mother described the distressing meltdowns her daughter experienced, leading to violence and an unsafe situation. It was only through the family's proactive approach, seeking help at Crumlin Hospital, that they received the attention they desperately needed.
"We never got to see anybody apart from as a parent. They never met our child, and we were left with no timeline. We were told it could be two years, it could be five years, but they never saw her during that entire time," the woman said, expressing her belief that her family was failed by the system.
This story is not unique. Parents report that children are frequently moved on and off waiting lists, with little to no progress. Jaimie Williams, whose four-year-old daughter exhibits traits of autism and ADHD, faces a similar battle. After being moved from the primary care psychology waiting list to a waitlist for the primary care area assessment team, Jaimie was informed that her daughter would have to wait six years for an assessment and diagnosis. In the meantime, her daughter struggles daily, and Jaimie feels she has no choice but to research therapies and potential diagnoses on her own.
Psychiatrists warn that these long waiting lists in primary care psychology are impacting CAMHS waiting lists as well. Dr. Patricia Byrne, a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Chair of the Child and Adolescent Faculty in the College of Psychiatry, states that the lack of primary care psychology services is pushing CAMHS services to their breaking point. She emphasizes that the longer children are left without services, the more their distress prolongs, and the more likely they are to develop more serious mental health difficulties.
"These are numbers you wouldn't expect to see in a third-world country, let alone a first-world country with good finances. Children are being completely failed by the system," Dr. Byrne said, commenting on the 13-year wait times in some areas.
Dr. Byrne attributes the poor state of primary care services to chronic underfunding, under-resourcing, and understaffing. She highlights the increasing population in Ireland, particularly among younger demographics, and the significant rise in mental health disorders as contributing factors to the mismatch between resources and demand.
Children's Ombudsman Dr. Niall Mulldoon agrees that the system is failing children in Ireland. He emphasizes the importance of early access to primary care to prevent issues from escalating and becoming more complex. He warns that the longer children have to wait for their first intervention, the more likely they will require longer and more intensive treatment later on.
"When it's up to 13 years, it's not a waiting list; it's diabolical. That's outside of your childhood. You won't even get on that waiting list until you're five, so that child is now an adult, and that should never happen," Dr. Mulldoon said.
Dr. Sinead Feeney, a GP in Galway, highlights the impact of the lack of primary care psychology on her patients. She explains that referring children to these services often results in either a long wait or a rejection, leaving no other options for families, especially those without the means to access private care.
"If you happen to be a child born into a family of means, you have an advantage. If you're from a low-income family, you face the double challenge of poverty and extremely limited options," Dr. Feeney said.
The HSE acknowledges the long waiting lists for primary care but attributes this to a limited number of psychologists, resulting in an uneven distribution across the country's 181 primary care centres. They state that there are 200 psychologists working in primary care overall, available in each health area, but this clearly falls short of meeting the demand.
The HSE further notes that the increasing referral rate for primary care psychology, which has seen a 62% increase from 2017 to 2025, remains a significant challenge. Children's services, by their nature, are more complex and require more frequent attendance compared to adult services.
This situation raises important questions: How can we ensure that children receive the timely mental health support they need? What steps can be taken to address the chronic underfunding and resource allocation issues within the healthcare system? And, most importantly, how can we prevent these long waits from impacting the well-being and development of our youngest and most vulnerable citizens?
