Dr. Joseph Duffy:

We are following all of the HSE and Government guidelines as to providing face-to-face supports, adhering to social distancing and so on. We have conducted an audit of our 12 centres across the country and are providing the appropriate supports within them. We have been offering young people phone and video support and will continue to offer that combined level of support. Some people need direct, face-to-face support and they need to be able to come into the centre and have it as a safe space. We will be prioritising those young people. We hope that some young people will be able to have their initial assessments within the centres and can then continue the support either through the video service or by phone. We are hoping to be able to provide a wider breadth of entry points into the service by using various different technologies, as I have outlined. We will have to wait to see if there is an increase in referrals, particularly in the context of young people looking for face-to-face support. We will be encouraging them to avail of a number of different options.