The co-leader of the Social Democrats Róisín Shortall TD today sharply criticised the Minister for Health, as children are left on long waiting lists for mental health services.
Figures obtained by Deputy Shortall from the HSE show that many children are left waiting over a year to access mental health services.
"These figures are absolutely shocking, for all of their talk about investing in mental health the government have allowed these lists to grow to a disgraceful extent," Deputy Shortall said.
Deputy Shortall went on to point out the importance of early intervention for child and adolescent mental health.
Deputy Shortall concluded by questioning the huge regional disparities in waiting lists and saying that the Minister and the HSE need to get a handle on the problem.