Some 3,133 children are waiting for psychiatric assessments despite evidence that delays in treatment leave young people at a high risk of becoming chronically mentally unwell, new Health Service Executive (HSE) figures show.
Waiting lists are longest in the Dublin area, with 1,480 waiting for assessments in the Dublin mid-Leinster area, followed by 645 in the south, 600 in the west and 400 in the Dublin northeast area.
The figures do not provide a breakdown of how long children have been waiting for assessments, although health officials estimate it can range from weeks or months in most cases.
There are cases of some children waiting up to two years for assessments.
Children in need of mental health intervention may suffer from a range of conditions such as emotional and behavioural problems or learning difficulties.
Research by the Irish College of Psychiatrists indicates that the incidence and prevalence of deliberate self-harm and attempted suicide increases with age throughout adolescence for young people with mental health problems.
Fine Gael equality spokesman David Stanton TD, who obtained the figures, said thousands of distraught children and their families had been left with "little or no psychiatric support", despite being in very vulnerable situations.
He said that in addition to a service that was not meeting the needs of children, there was no capacity in child and adolescent psychiatric services to provide for children aged 16 and 17.
"When adolescents find themselves in need of help it can be very distressing for them and their worried parents when they are unable to access vitally-important services.
"To add to the stress, it must be very upsetting to hear that their child is the last in a 3,100-person long waiting list."
The HSE's national care group manger for mental health services, Martin Rogan, said a working group including representatives from across the health services was examining ways of providing the best service for children and adolescents. This group was due to report to the HSE next month.
In the meantime, he said, €3.25 million had been targeted this year at child and adolescent services on top of existing funding.
He said while waiting lists varied throughout the country, the HSE responded immediately to children presenting with serious conditions, such as self-harm or early psychosis.
Substantial progress had been made in reducing waiting lists in some parts of the country, such as south Kildare where health professionals managed to eradicate waiting lists entirely.
The HSE, however, has acknowledged that in-patient services for children are inadequate.
There are currently 20 beds in Dublin and Galway. However, the Irish College of Psychiatrists estimates that 236 in-patient psychiatric beds are needed. The lack of beds has led to children being placed in adult psychiatric facilities or hospitals. A small number of children have also been sent abroad for treatment.
