Dr. Jennifer Doran:

With regard to there being specific or additional mental health supports for people on islands, to my knowledge there is nothing additional. One goes in and just like everybody else, one waits one's turn. It is interesting that the Deputy mentioned children with additional needs. That is one area where we have tried to facilitate virtual consultations. If one has a child with sensory issues, getting them into the doctor is difficult enough, never mind schlepping them out on a boat and dragging them somewhere. We have been trying to make our office space more friendly to children and to facilitate parents and kids in having those consultations remotely, where possible. It lends itself well but again, the wait times in between appointments are so long that one finds children disimproving and regressing. Children with additional needs should be able to move to the islands if they want to but if one is facing one's child not having the same access, or it is too difficult, then they will not.

To the best of my knowledge, there is nobody in a wheelchair currently living on Clare Island but there are definitely older people who find walking difficult. The terrain is hard. One ends up being very housebound a lot of the time, which is lonely. Dr. McCabe might know more about that, if he wants to add anything.