Articles · Consultant-led ADHD care across Ireland
Adult ADHD in Ireland: Guides & Answers
Plain-language guides from a consultant psychiatrist for adults in Ireland who suspect ADHD might explain what they have been living with.
If you have spent years being called careless, forgetful or lazy, and none of it ever matched how hard you were actually trying, this is the place to start.
Adult ADHD was, for a long time, treated in Irish psychiatry as a childhood condition. The HSE National Clinical Programme for Adult ADHD changed that, but public services remain under-resourced: waiting lists for adult ADHD assessment exceed two to four years in many HSE areas, and access is harder again outside the cities. That is the picture set out in a 2024 review in the BJPsych Bulletin, “Adult ADHD in the Republic of Ireland: the evolving response”, whose first author, Dr Shaeraine Raaj, Consultant Psychiatrist, founded MindBridge Medical in 2025 to close the gap it describes.
These guides are written by the MindBridge clinical team. They cover why ADHD is so often missed in women, what the research says about adult ADHD services in Ireland, how online assessment with a consultant psychiatrist works, why the clinic exists, and the exercise, nutrition and daily strategies that support treatment.
Not sure whether ADHD is even the right question? Take the free two-minute ADHD self-check. Already fairly sure and want to know what assessment and treatment involve? See our services and fees. Everything is done by secure video call across the Republic of Ireland, with no referral and no waiting list.
Understanding ADHD
For anyone still working out how ADHD shows up in adults, why it hides for decades, and where Irish services stand today.
Women & ADHD
ADHD in Females: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Why It Is Often Missed
Why diagnostic models built around boys left girls and women unrecognised, the inattentive and emotional symptoms that get mistaken for anxiety or stress, and why many women are only diagnosed as adults.
Read the guide →The research
Adult ADHD in Ireland: The Evolving Response and the Role of Telepsychiatry
Dr Raaj's BJPsych Bulletin paper in plain language: the HSE clinical programme, waiting lists of two to four years, the rural postcode lottery, and why telepsychiatry is now part of the answer.
Read the guide →Public pathway
Adult ADHD Services in Ireland: Where Things Stand
Here's how the public ADHD pathway in Ireland actually works — the GP referral step, what the HSE adult ADHD service covers, and how a private assessment fits alongside it.
Read the guide →Getting assessed
What online assessment with a consultant psychiatrist involves, why the clinic was built the way it was, and what it costs.
Online assessment
Bringing Psychiatry Online: The Rise of Telepsychiatry in Ireland
How secure video consultations opened specialist care to people outside the cities, why rapport and diagnostic accuracy hold up on screen, and how psychiatry, psychology and counselling work together on one platform.
Read the guide →Why we exist
The Story of How MindBridge Medical Began
From a late-night literature review on ADHD referral pathways to a clinic launched in 2025: self-booking, evening and weekend appointments, and care aligned with the HSE model of care for adults with ADHD.
Read the story →Our assessment
Adult ADHD assessment & treatment at MindBridge
Screening questionnaires, a 90-minute DIVA-5 video assessment and a results consultation with a consultant psychiatrist. €950 all-inclusive, no referral, no waiting list.
About the assessment →How it works
From booking to treatment plan in two video appointments
Every step and its timing: the two pre-screening forms, the structured assessment, the GP cardiovascular check and the prescription by HealthMail.
See how it works →The cost
What an ADHD Assessment Costs in Ireland
MindBridge's own €950 ADHD assessment fee, itemised: what's included, what a first year can add up to, and what to ask any clinic.
Read the guide →Living and working with ADHD
For the everyday reality: energy, focus, sleep and the habits that make treatment work better.
Lifestyle
The ADHD Wellness Toolkit: Exercise, Nutrition and Daily Strategies
Which kinds of exercise support attention and motivation, why protein at breakfast matters, what the evidence does not support, and how lifestyle measures fit alongside medication rather than replacing it.
Read the guide →Therapy
CBT group for ADHD, six weeks online
A six-week online group with a chartered psychologist for the practical side of ADHD: planning, procrastination, emotional regulation and routines. €350; next cohort starts 21 February 2027.
About the CBT group →Ready for an answer rather than another article?
Two minutes for the self-check. One structured assessment for a diagnosis you can act on.
Adult ADHD Services in Ireland: Where Things Stand
Here's how the public ADHD pathway in Ireland actually works — the GP referral step, what the HSE adult ADHD service covers, and how a private assessment fits alongside it.
If you're an adult in Ireland who thinks you might have ADHD, the public route usually starts with your GP. This page explains how that route works, what the HSE adult ADHD service covers, and where a private assessment fits in.
By Dr Shaeraine Raaj, MRCPsych, Consultant Psychiatrist. Last reviewed: 29 September 2026.
How does the public adult ADHD pathway work in Ireland?
The first step is a GP referral to your local general adult community mental health team (CMHT), which assesses you for comorbid mental illness and screens for adult ADHD. Where clinical findings suggest a potential ADHD diagnosis, the CMHT refers you on to an HSE adult ADHD clinic. This is a public, GP-led route — no private clinic sits inside it.
Each HSE adult ADHD clinic sets its own criteria for who it accepts, and these vary by area. If you are unsure whether the service in your area is a fit, your GP is the person to ask.
How many public adult ADHD clinics are there in Ireland?
Dr Raaj's 2024 paper describes how the service was set up: funding was provided for three services in early 2021 and four more in 2022, with further funding requested to make the service available nationally. The number running today isn't confirmed, so your GP is the best person to ask about the service in your area.
Can I go private while I am on the HSE adult ADHD waiting list?
Yes. Being on a public list and being seen privately are not mutually exclusive, and choosing to see a private consultant does not affect your place on the public list. Going private is a choice, not a requirement — the public pathway above remains available to anyone who prefers it or cannot pay privately.
What happens if my HSE appointment comes through after I have already been assessed privately?
That is a decision for you. Some people keep the public appointment for a second opinion or for services the public system provides (such as ongoing multidisciplinary support); others cancel it once privately diagnosed and treated. Neither is right or wrong — this page does not advise one way or the other, and nothing here should be read as telling you what public capacity to use or release.
Does the HSE model of care cover more than medication?
Yes. The national model includes ADHD-specific medication and non-pharmacological interventions, both group and individual — medication is one part of the public model, not the whole of it.
Where does MindBridge fit alongside the public system?
MindBridge is a private, consultant-psychiatrist-led telepsychiatry service. It does not replace or compete with HSE adult ADHD clinics, and this page does not suggest the public route is unavailable or inadequate — only that it can take longer to reach an appointment, and that some people choose a private assessment for that reason. If you are already engaged with a public service and want a private opinion or faster access, ADHD assessment explains how MindBridge's process works; if you have already been diagnosed elsewhere and want ongoing prescribing, see ADHD transfer of care.
Need help now? In an emergency call 999 or 112, or go to your nearest emergency department. Samaritans: call 116 123, free, 24 hours a day. Text About It: free-text HELLO to 50808, 24/7. More ways to get urgent help, on hse.ie
About this article
This article is general information. It is not medical or legal advice and it cannot tell you whether you have a condition. It does not replace an assessment by a qualified clinician, and reading it does not make you a patient of MindBridge Medical. The public-service figures on this page are dated to the source cited; check with the HSE or your GP for the current position.
If you are worried about your health, speak to your GP or another registered clinician. In an emergency call 999 or 112, or go to your nearest emergency department.
Written by Dr Shaeraine Raaj, MRCPsych, Consultant Psychiatrist.
Medically reviewed by Dr Shaeraine Raaj, MRCPsych, Consultant Psychiatrist (Irish Medical Council 409852, Specialist Division). Reviewed 29 September 2026.
Last reviewed: 29 September 2026. How we review our content
Considering a private assessment: ADHD assessment →