Offaly teen in crisis left waiting months for ‘possible’ CAMHS appointment, Dáil told

Independent TD Carol Nolan has said that the situation facing families in Offaly who are attempting to access Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is now “intolerable, unsafe, and utterly indefensible,” following her exchange today with Tánaiste Simon Harris in the Dáil.

Speaking after raising the case of a teenage girl in Offaly whose situation is at crisis level, and who is self‑harming and experiencing multiple complex diagnoses, Deputy Nolan said that the response issued to the family by Offaly CAMHS “defies any reasonable understanding of what an emergency is”.

Deputy Nolan told the Tánaiste that the girl’s mother, who is “heartbroken, distressed, and doing everything humanly possible to keep her child alive” was informed that her daughter “could be offered an appointment” at the end of September or early October, despite repeated warnings to CAMHS about the escalating crisis.

“This is not an emergency response. It is a system that is failing to recognise acute risk and failing to act,” said Deputy Nolan.

The Tánaiste acknowledged the seriousness of the case and confirmed that the Minister of State, Mary Butler, would engage directly with the HSE and Deputy Nolan on the matter. He also referenced data provided to him by officials, stating that “100% of urgent referrals in Offaly are responded to within three working days,” and that the Offaly CAMHS team has “the second‑highest open caseload in the region” with 96 children waiting for their first urgent referral appointment.

Deputy Nolan said these figures “only reinforce the scale of dysfunction”.

She said if 100% of urgent referrals are supposedly being seen within three working days, either the data is misleading, or the classification of ‘urgent’ is so narrow that it excludes children who are clearly at risk.

Deputy Nolan also highlighted that the Midlands CAMHS area continues to have the second‑highest waiting list in the State, with an estimated 1,006 children awaiting mental health treatment:

“Families in Offaly feel as if they are being abandoned and many of them feel that they are being left to manage life‑threatening situations without timely clinical support. No parent should have to watch their child every hour of every day to prevent them from ending their own life because the State cannot provide an appointment.”

Deputy Nolan called for Offaly CAMHS to be prioritised in Budget 2027, particularly in terms of staffing:

“The Tánaiste confirmed that Offaly CAMHS is operating below the national average in clinical staffing. That must be addressed immediately. We cannot continue to have one of the highest waiting lists in the country and one of the most overstretched teams.”

Deputy Nolan said she will be providing full details of the case to Minister Butler with the consent of the parent, and will continue to press for immediate intervention:

“This is an emergency. It must be treated as an emergency. The State cannot continue to fail these children,” she concluded.