Several councillors have expressed concern about the mental health of men in Kerry and Cork.
The South West Regional Health Forum (RHF) was held at County Buildings in Tralee recently.
Cork City councillor, Peter Horgan had requested the number of people awaiting mental health support in Kerry and Cork.
He said he made the request because, as the father of three young sons, he has serious concerns about the messages men are receiving.
He believes they are being exposed either to “incredibly negative” disparagement, or to “absolute nonsense” from the so-called manosphere, which guides them in the wrong direction.
Arfert councillor Deirdre Ferris pointed to the recently published Traveller mental health report, where men were again shown to be disproportionately affected.
She urged the HSE to track waiting list and treatment figures by sex after it said it could not provide a breakdown of males and females waiting.
Cllr Ferris also claimed the number of children waiting for their first CAMHS appointment does “not reflect the full reality of the situation”.
She asked the HSE to provide the number of people who have been refused access to either CAMHS or the adult mental health services.
The Sinn Féin councillor said she regularly encounters parents of young children displaying symptoms of suicidal ideation and self-harm.
Some cases involve extreme self-harm.
She said CAMHS has refused treatment because the children are classified as having behavioural rather than mental health issues.
She said it is a failing of the HSE not to provide these figures so key areas of concern can be identified.
Cllr Horgan was told that, as of April 2026, the longest waiting lists in the HSE South West were for under-18s in CAMHS, with 1,054 children awaiting support.
This is followed by the General Adult Mental Health Services (GAMHS) with 158 clients on waiting lists, and Psychiatry of Later Life (POLL) with 54, across both counties.
Just two of those aged 65 years or over were waiting more than three months, while 57 clients of the General Adult Mental Health Services in Kerry and Cork have been waiting more than three months.
However, waiting times for children are much longer.
Of the over 1,000 awaiting CAMHS treatment in Kerry and Cork, 351 have been waiting for more than a year, 152 for nine to twelve months, 155 for six to nine months, and 196 for three to six months.
Councillors were told that HSE South West is continuing with ongoing recruitment initiatives, as well as other measures to shorten waiting times.
