More than 1,000 on CAMHS waitlist

One third of children and teenagers waiting for access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) have been waiting more than over one year.

Figures seen by The Cork Independent show the total number of young people waiting for access to CAMHS in the South West region is 1,054 as of Thursday 4 June. Of those, 351 have been waiting for more than 12 months.

The next largest cohort - 200 - have been waiting for less than three months, while 196 have been waiting for 3-6 months, 155 have been waiting for 6-9 months, and 152 have been waiting for 9-12 months.

The figures were released following a question submitted to the latest meeting of the HSE South-West Health Forum by Cork City Cllr Peter Horgan (Labour).

The South-West region, along with the Dublin and North East region accounted for 46% of cases on the waitlist as of December 2025. The number waiting for access to adult mental health services is considerably less. CAMHS is a service for those under the age of 18 with moderate to severe mental health issues.

Only 158 people are currently on the wait list for General Adult Mental Health Services. Two thirds of this number - 101 - have been waiting for less than three months. The remainder - 57 - have been waiting for 3-6 months.

The numbers for older people are even lower. Just 54 people are currently waiting for access to Psychiatry of Later Life (POLL), all but two of whom have been waiting for less than three months.

Cllr Horgan said while progress has been made, “significant gaps remain in service accessibility, early intervention, and targeted outreach for younger cohorts”.

He said there was a serious concern especially among “young males who continue to be disproportionately affected by mental health challenges and suicide risk”.

“There is a need to engage with all people but young men in particular, who we know are less likely to seek help and more likely to present in emergency situations.”

When you look at the gaps then in genuine support models for young men, the numbers presented to me were stark,” he said.

Julia O’Neill, Integrated Healthcare Area manager for Kerry said the body “continues to implement a range of measures to improve access to mental health services.”

She said these include ”ongoing recruitment initiatives, enhanced triage and prioritisation processes, targeted waiting list initiatives and service redesign programmes across both CAMHS and adult mental health services,” she said.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.