Dr. Sinead O'Brien:

I thank the Chairman. Within the Cork region, we have different levels of support depending on the assessed needs of individuals. We have other continuing care units and high-support hostels. It is really important to emphasise, however, that we have put significant investment into the community in Cork. We have four home-based treatment teams, one of which is specifically for the east Cork region and the communities of Midleton, Youghal, Cove and Carrigtwohill.

We also have a seven-day service in the community. This means that individuals can be seen every day if that is the level of support required. The introduction of that service has proven to be invaluable to individuals and their families when they have periods in which they require increased support. These teams have multidisciplinary support, so, again, they serve to enable individuals to address matters that are causing them either difficulty or distress. The input of social work, occupational therapy and psychology is invaluable, and the community supports are very strong. This year, we have a psychiatry of later life community service that now covers all of Cork. Up until that, we would not have had a service for all of east Cork but now we do. It can provide support to individuals in their homes, residential settings for older persons and in nursing homes.