Over 23,800 people are waiting for a neurology appointment, according to the Neurological Alliance of Ireland.
It also said there is a national shortfall of over 100 nurse specialists in neurology in the health system.
NAI Executive Director Magdalen Rogers said that four fifths of people with Parkinson's disease do not have access to a nurse specialist.
It wants the number of nurse specialists increased by up to 20 a year over the next five years.
The alliance represents 30 non-profit organisations advocating for the rights of 800,000 people in Ireland with a neurological condition.
It is appearing today before the joint committee on health to discuss its concerns about service capacity.
Neurological conditions affect the brain and spinal cord.
They are the leading cause of disability throughout the world and include many common conditions such as stroke, dementia, migraine, epilepsy and acquired brain injury, as well as rare and genetic conditions.
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The Health Service Executive said that plans are being developed to incrementally increase the provision of nurse specialists in neurology and deal with the remaining deficits in the country.
This includes plans for an extra 16 specialist nurses as a starting point, to deal with the areas of greatest inequity, it said.
Ms Rogers told the committee that Covid-19 has had a serious impact on access to care and treatment for people with neurological conditions due to the closure and curtailment of services and redeployment of staff.
She said that in Ireland this impact was exacerbated by the fact that both neurology and neurorehabilitation services were already significantly overstretched and under-resourced before the pandemic.
She said that as of January, there are 7,587 patients waiting over 18 months. This is an increase from the 4,871 waiters in January 2019, pre-pandemic.
Dr Orla Hardiman, National Clinical Lead for Neurology and Professor of Neurology at Trinity College Dublin, said there were very significant regional differences in services.
She said that 30% of people on waiting lists are suffering from headaches which need to be assessed.
