A mother has said her 11-year-old daughter is "locked out" of the mental health system because she has an intellectual disability and lives in a region that does not have the necessary services.
Jennifer Flaherty's daughter Maggie was diagnosed with mental health disorders while living in the UK.
Maggie is autistic and also has an intellectual disability.
However since moving back to Drumshanbo in Co Leitrim with her family two years ago, Maggie has been unable to access the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service.
Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Flaherty said: "The HSE in September 2022 set up CAMHS-ID, which was a great idea that in each region there would be a specific team for children with intellectual disabilities because they're so vulnerable to mental health disorders - that this would be specifically for them.
"But that locked them out of regular CAMHS."
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She said that the "reality is that the HSE do not have a lot of these teams set up".
"In our region there's none of these teams so Maggie is now locked out of mental health services and she's not on a waiting list - two years after being put on the urgent waiting list," she said.
More than 60 organisations are calling for an additional €120 million to address key deficits in the mental health system.
They are due to present an open letter to Taoiseach Simon Harris calling for the investment.
Signatories of the letter include the chief executives of Pieta, Jigsaw, Barnardos, Shine, Alone, Bodywhys and St Patrick's Mental Health Services.
Ms Flaherty is a member of another group which signed the letter, Families for Reform of CAMHS.
She said Maggie is unable to access medication as she cannot get to see a psychiatrist via the HSE.
Ms Flaherty said: "She's diagnosed with ADHD, general anxiety disorder, oppositional defiance disorder and sleep disorders.
"So, Maggie five nights out of seven she doesn't sleep through the night.
"She's up from 2 to 3am all the way through the day.
"She is very anxious. We do have good days and we get her out.
"But in general Maggie doesn't want to leave the house apart from her school."
Ms Flaherty said the family are unable to go on outings and that Maggie can be "aggressive".
"She can't be on her own with her little brother because she will physically attack him," she said.
"She has physically attacked us. She has hurt herself," she added.
Ms Flaherty said the family are "not asking for Maggie's autism to be cured".
She said: "We know that we will be looking after her for life and there will always be issues.
"But this level of distress cannot be left untreated and I mean we've had doctors say that to us in the UK and here in Ireland that she should be treated, but because of these new teams being set up she's been locked out of the system and the only one the person who can prescribe medication to my daughter is a psychiatrist."
However, she added, "you can only get that through CAMHS".
"We can't get to it. So, there is no one there that can intervene for our daughter," she said.
Unequal distribution of services
The interim CEO of Mental Health Reform said the distribution of services across Ireland is not equal.
Mental Health Reform is a national coalition that advocates for accessible, effective and inclusive mental health services and support.
Speaking on the same programme, Philip Watt said there is a particular shortage of mental health services in the west of Ireland.
There were 24,000 referrals to CAMHS last year, an increase of 37% since 2020, he said, adding that of the €120m that Mental Health Reform believe is needed, €40m of that is just to sustain services as they are.
"Research from Britain shows that early investment in mental health services means that children and young people and then adults are less likely to need clinical and hospital services later on," he said.
Mr Watt said that once a person enters the system, care can vary and some of the care is excellent but many families are waiting for months for assessment and treatment.
"We know the challenges around CAMHS ... and the need for additional oversight.
"And it's good that in the Mental Health Bill, the Government has said that the Mental Health Commission will expand their role to cover non-hospital mental health services. And that's really important as well," he added.
