New figures show 24 children in Roscommon and Leitrim received counselling for drug and alcohol addiction last year.
A Sligo-Leitrim TD is calling on the Health Minister to use the National Treatment Purchase Fund to urgently treat juveniles with mental health issues in the northwest.
Details released to Shannonside FM show 14 people under 18 in Roscommon received counselling for cannabis-related issues in 2016.
In the same time frame, ten juveniles in Leitrim were treated for illicit drugs, alcohol and other issues.
No child in Longford was treated for such issues last year.
The news come as concerns continue to mount over the treatment available for children with mental-health issues in the northwest, in particular.
A Sligo-Leitrim TD is calling on the Health Minister to use the National Treatment Purchase Fund to urgently treat juveniles with such problems.
The minutes of an internal meeting of HSE management, released to Shannonside FM, have revealed the extent of the problems with child and adolescent services in the area.
They reveal that, due to the lack of resources, it was agreed to write to HSE officials to ‘voice concerns’ that the capacity of the region ‘to manage this situation has been exceeded’.
Ballinamore GP Seán Bourke describes the services as ‘non-existent’, with a severe lack of psychiatrists for children.
Local Fianna Fáil deputy Marc MacSharry, who labelled the situation ‘shambolic’, wants Minister Simon Harris to intervene by giving children on the waiting list private care.
