Oireachtas members from around Co Galway have made a combined call for State funding to secure a youth counselling service.
The service, operated by Youthwork Ireland, provides specialist counselling to young people from the age of 12 onwards.
But a lack of dedicated funding means the organisation is not in a position to take on new referrals and puts the long-term future of the service in doubt.
TDs and Senators say the specialist counselling provided in Tuam, Loughrea, Ballinasloe and Galway city is of critical importance.
It costs €35,000 per year to run the service, which is provided by fully qualified counsellors. Referrals come from a range of agencies as well as from parents, schools and general practitioners.
The Health Service Executive has provided enough funding to ensure the existing waiting list can be dealt with but Youthwork Ireland says a more sustainable funding model is needed.
The service was initially paid for from the State's Dormant Accounts fund in 2012, before the Society of St Vincent de Paul stepped in to finance it for the following three years.
Since the beginning of this year, the youth organisation has been dependent on a mix of fundraising, HSE money and private donations.
A total of 191 young people availed of counselling last year. They presented with a range of concerns including stress, anxiety, self-harm, family and school related problems.
In the Dáil this afternoon, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and independent TDs from Galway called on the Minister of State for Mental Health to safeguard the service.
Minister Jim Daly gave an undertaking to examine the matter and said he would meet with Deputies Anne Rabbitte, Hildegarde Naughton and Catherine Connolly next week to progress the issue.
