Mental health services need an extra 2,000 staff to function properly.
That is the claim from Fianna Fáil who say the HSE has failed to spend any of an extra €15m earmarked for boosting staff numbers.
New figures show only 93 extra staff have been hired so far this year.
Some 5,954 children were waiting for a primary care psychology appointment June end 2017, of which 1,784 are waiting over a year.
Advertisement
James Browne, Fianna Fáil Mental Health Spokesperson said: “This has a very real impact on the most painfully vulnerable people in our society.”
“We’re seeing in the psychological services some children waiting for over three years for a first appointment,” he added.
