Mr. Pat Healy:

We are very sensitive to the fact that families and individuals are under pressure. The guidance we give to our local offices is to be sensitive to the needs of people and help them to understand very clearly where they are on the waiting list. We try to give them the likely waiting time of, say, ten or 11 weeks, depending on where they are, and by and large it arrives around that time. One cannot be absolutely exact as it is fluid, but we try to provide as much information and guide people as to when they are likely to get the formal place and to expedite it as quickly as possible.