The Committee met with the following witnesses: 

• Mr Ken Kilbride, CEO, ADHD Ireland
• Dr Sonia Morris, Board member, ADHD Ireland
• Professor Catherine Comiskey, Academic
• Mr Philip David James, Academic

An Leas-Chathaoirleach: We have received apologies from Deputy Máire Devine and Senator Nicole Ryan. It is understood that Deputy Ó Murchú will be substituting for Deputy Devine for a number of weeks at least.

I am delighted to open the tenth public meeting of the Joint Committee on Drugs Use. In today's session, we will be focusing on substance use and neurodiversity. I particularly welcome our expert witnesses: from ADHD Ireland, Mr. Ken Kilbride, CEO, and Dr. Sonia Morris, board member; and from Trinity College, Dublin, Professor Catherine Comiskey, professor of healthcare modelling, global addiction and transformation, and Mr. Philip David James, assistant professor of mental health nursing. The witnesses are all very welcome and I thank them for attending today... All opening statements have been circulated to members and will be published on the Oireachtas website after this session. As agreed, we will limit each opening statement to five minutes to allow plenty of time for questions and answers. I am conscious that a wide range of issues will be discussed today. If necessary, further, more detailed information on certain issues can be sent to the clerk to the committee for circulation to members. I should also mention that members will be in and out of the committee room during the meeting due to other parliamentary commitments.

I understand that Mr. Kilbride and Dr. Morris are sharing time and I now invite them to deliver their opening statement on behalf of ADHD Ireland.

Mr. Ken Kilbride: On behalf of ADHD Ireland, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Chair and members of the Joint Committee on Drugs Use for giving us the opportunity to present to them today.

To start, let us put attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, in context. It is a neurodivergent that is primarily genetic, so it tends to run in families. It is a difference in how brains develop, which means it influences how you experience the world. It also means that it does not disappear on your 18th birthday and, for some, it can impact their function to various levels across the entire lifespan. Medication is available for ADHD, which supports functioning and is a recommended intervention in international guidelines.

For reference, there are probably 160,000 to 170,000 adults living in Ireland today with ADHD. The vast majority would be undiagnosed and unsupported in their ADHD. A recent Healthy Ireland survey from the Central Statistics Office indicated that 9% of adults in Ireland think they have ADHD. This is in addition to the children already identified. What services are available to people in supporting their ADHD? For children, there is the child and adolescent mental health service, CAMHS, but as awareness of the societal acceptance of ADHD increases, so does the pressure on the HSE to deliver those services. We see wait lists increasing for CAMHS, primarily driven by families looking to get their children assessed for ADHD, and open cases in CAMHS populated by ADHD service users....

[Click here to read the full debate on the Oireachtas website]

View the video of the Committee meeting on the Oireachtas website [11 December 2025, begins at 16 minutes].

Opening statements:

• Opening statement, Ken Kilbride, CEO, ADHD Ireland
• Opening statement, Prof. Catherine Comiskey, Professor of Healthcare Modelling (School of Nursing and Midwifery), Trinity College Dublin
• Opening statement, Philip David James, Assistant Professor, Mental Health Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin