Mr. Paul Longmore:

With the young people we meet in Jigsaw, we continue to see anxiety and low mood as very prominent reasons for referral. Many young people are experiencing a significant amount of disruption to their routines and to their relationships. Their expectations of what their lives would have been like this year are very different, whether in the context of school, college or sitting the leaving certificate. That sense of uncertainty and disruption to routine is difficult. There is also the concern regarding family members who might be ill or elderly. All of these things contribute to a sense of anxiety. The restrictions relating to Covid-19, while necessary and required, impact on people's mental health and may make it harder for some to use the day-to-day mechanisms that they would use to manage and support their own mental health. If these mechanisms are disrupted, it can make it difficult to be resilient in the face of the challenges we are all facing at this time.