At Least 30 Key CAMHS Posts Remain Unfilled for Over a Year as Child Mental Health Crisis Deepens
At least 30 key positions within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services across Ireland have remained unfilled for more than a year, with some psychology, social work, and occupational therapy posts vacant since 2023 or earlier — figures that have prompted fresh calls for emergency recruitment measures from health advocates who warn that the staffing crisis is leaving thousands of children and young people without access to the specialist mental health support they urgently need.
Background
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services — CAMHS — is the HSE's specialist mental health service for children and young people up to the age of 18. The service provides assessment and treatment for a wide range of mental health conditions, from anxiety and depression to eating disorders, psychosis, and neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD and autism. Demand for CAMHS has grown significantly in recent years, driven by a combination of increased awareness of mental health issues, the lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on young people's wellbeing, and the growing recognition of the prevalence of neurodevelopmental conditions that were previously undiagnosed.
The service has been under sustained pressure for years, with waiting lists that leave many children waiting months or even years for an initial assessment. A 2022 report by the Mental Health Commission found significant deficiencies in CAMHS provision across the country, including inadequate staffing, poor physical environments, and inconsistent quality of care. The HSE committed to a programme of reform in response to that report, but progress has been slow, and the staffing crisis has continued to worsen.
The recruitment and retention of specialist mental health professionals — including clinical psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, and psychiatrists — is a challenge across the health system, but it is particularly acute in CAMHS, where the complexity of the work and the emotional demands of working with vulnerable children and families make it a difficult environment to sustain a workforce.
Key Developments
Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal that at least 30 key positions within CAMHS have remained unfilled for more than a year, with 14 psychology, social work, and occupational therapy posts vacant since 2023 or earlier. The vacancies are distributed across CAMHS teams in different HSE regions, with some areas more severely affected than others. The impact of these vacancies on waiting times and service quality is significant: each unfilled post represents a reduction in the number of children who can be assessed and treated, and the cumulative effect of multiple vacancies in a single team can effectively render that team unable to function at the level required.
Health advocates have described the situation as a crisis that demands an emergency response. The Irish Association of Social Workers, the Psychological Society of Ireland, and the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland have all called on the HSE and the Department of Health to implement emergency recruitment measures, including enhanced pay scales, improved working conditions, and targeted international recruitment campaigns.
The HSE has acknowledged the staffing challenges in CAMHS and has indicated that it is working to address them through a combination of recruitment initiatives and service redesign. However, critics argue that the pace of progress is inadequate given the scale of the problem and the harm being done to children who are waiting for care.
Why It Matters
The CAMHS staffing crisis is a symptom of a broader failure to invest adequately in mental health services in Ireland. Despite repeated commitments to increase the proportion of the health budget allocated to mental health — the target set in the 2006 A Vision for Change strategy was 12%, a figure that has never been reached — mental health services remain chronically underfunded relative to need. For children and young people, the consequences of inadequate mental health support can be severe and long-lasting. Untreated mental health conditions in childhood are associated with poorer educational outcomes, higher rates of substance misuse, and greater risk of mental health problems in adulthood. The cost of failing to invest in CAMHS now will be borne by individuals, families, and the health system for decades to come.
Local Impact
The impact of CAMHS vacancies is felt across Ireland, but it is particularly acute in areas where the service is already stretched. In the HSE's Community Healthcare Organisation areas covering the west and north-west of the country, where population dispersal makes service delivery more challenging, the combination of staffing shortages and geographic barriers creates a situation in which some children face waits of two years or more for an initial CAMHS assessment. In Dublin, where demand is highest, the waiting lists are also severe, with children in some areas waiting more than 18 months. Schools, GPs, and community organisations are all reporting the consequences of the CAMHS crisis, with teachers and counsellors increasingly being asked to provide support that is beyond their training and remit.
What's Next
The Department of Health is expected to publish a CAMHS action plan before the end of 2026, setting out specific measures to address the staffing crisis and reduce waiting times. The plan is expected to include enhanced pay scales for CAMHS professionals, a targeted international recruitment campaign, and investment in training places for clinical psychologists and other specialist staff. The Mental Health Commission will publish its annual report on CAMHS in September, providing an independent assessment of progress since the 2022 report and identifying the areas where the most urgent action is required. Opposition parties have indicated that they will use the Dáil's return from recess in September to press the Minister for Health on the timeline for implementing the action plan.
