Mr. Eoin Barry:

The point we made in our opening statement was about a particular type of restraint and considering the impact of the trauma of certain restraints on children. When dealing with behavioural difficulties, there is a toolkit of different techniques and ways to address the challenging behaviour. We would like to see the balance tip towards de-escalation, which already exists, with the least intervention possible being the best approach. That often depends on the atmosphere in a unit at the time. The total elimination of seclusion and restraint is a bit beyond what we suggested in our statement. We are saying that certain tools are available and we would like to see one removed when dealing with children.