TWO YOUNG BOYS who were the victims of a sexual victim of a sexual assault have been waiting over two years for counselling.
This morning RTÉ’s Morning Ireland outlined the case of a woman they named Emma.
She said that she has waited for more than two years for their first counselling session since reporting their abuse.
She said that she does not have the funds to get private counselling, but has been waiting for two years to get an appointment.
Emma says she doesn’t want her sons’ “dreams dying” because they are hurt.
However, the child and family agency Tusla did not say if the case is unusual.
Aidan Waterstone of Tusla told the programme that while there are other cases where there are delays of two years, it is a “complex area of service delivery”.
He added that counselling child victims of sexual abuse is a relatively new practice and Tusla itself is just a year old.
He could not answer Cathal MacCoile’s question on how many children were on waiting lists for counselling.
His inability to put a figure on waiting lists angered some listeners.
Tusla will, he said, be adding a number of staff this year to co-ordinate and implement sexual abuse services.
Things are improving in the broad sense, he added.
The full interview can be heard here.
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