Photograph: PAA number of children with mild mental health or developmental difficulties have waited up to 11 years for a first assessment for services, including psychological assessment and occupational therapy. Another child in Louth-Meath spent more than nine years awaiting an occupational therapy assessment. Primary care services provide a range of clinical supports for young people with mental health or developmental difficulties that are generally classed as mild to moderate. The services can include psychology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, dietetics and audiology. “These figures on longest waits for child and adolescent primary care services show an entrenched national crisis across disciplines.

Source: The Irish Times January 14, 2026 15:01 UTC