By Tara McGivern

Nearly 2,000 children and young people in Galway and Roscommon are waiting for access to primary care psychology services, according to the latest figures seen by Sinn Fein.

The party’s TD for Galway West Mairéad Farrell, has said the situation is “completely unacceptable”.

Deputy Farrell made her comments following a response to a Parliamentary Question tabled by Sinn Féin spokesperson on mental health Sorca Clarke. 

“The figures reveal that 29,201 children and young people were waiting for primary care psychology services nationally at the end of January 2026, with 16,804 waiting a year or longer to be seen,” said Ms Farrell.  

Ms Farrell called the situation a “failure of planning and resourcing by government”. She emphasised that “behind every one of these numbers is a child who needs help and a family under enormous pressure.”

“This includes many students who cannot access the mental health services they need,” said Ms. Farrell. “This government has let waiting lists continue to spiral while students continue to struggle.”

Talking to Emily

For children and young adults on the list, using private mental health services to avoid long wait times is often not an option.  

According to the HSE’s  website, private counselling services start at €60. For psychiatric services the starting figure is €90.  

Emily, who asked us not to use her real name, is a 20-year-old college student at the University of Galway. who waited for free counselling. Private counselling at €60 an hour is out of her budget. 

“I can’t afford counselling outside of free services. I come from a single income household,” said Emily. “I’m already in college so that’s a huge amount of money that’s being spent on me, and it just wouldn’t really be feasible. There’s just not enough money.” 

Wait times with the HSE for public services were too long for Emily. Instead, she chose to wait four months for free counselling from local Galway services. 

“It’s just being stuck between a rock and a hard place. You know you need it but how long can you keep enduring or fighting until you get the help you need?” Emily asked. “It shouldn’t be so hard.” 

Emily says her situation is common amongst her peers, “Some of my friends were on waiting lists for eight or nine months“, she said. “With groceries rent and travel costs, just day to day living, it just really isn’t feasible for them [to go private].” 

While online services rolled out by the HSE in recent months fill some of the gap, for Emily online counselling feels impersonal. “I’d have to censor myself in my own home. I’d be worried people would hear me. I wouldn’t try texting services.”

HSE response:

In response to a request for comment, the HSE said: 

“The HSE currently funds and provides a range of mental health services and supports for young people in Ireland. Accessibility, equity and quality are key factors, and a number of these services and supports are available to access free and immediately online, while some are accessible via GP or other healthcare professional referral.” 

The HSE went on to highlight it’s move towards providing help online to those facing mental health crises, in hopes that this may cut wait times nationally:  

“Last month, the HSE published the Sharing the Vision Digital Mental health strategy 2026. The strategy aims to enhance mental health for all through digital technologies that improve infrastructure and provide safe, effective, and accessible mental health information, tools, and services.” 

Helplines

If you have been affected by the content of this article, support is available. You can contact Samaritans free of charge on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.ie 

If you are a student of University of Galway, you contact the counselling office at (091) 492484 or at counselling@universityofgalway.ie