Mr. Pat Bergin:

Part of the challenge I have is around how single separation is recorded. If a young person is separated from his peer group all day, that is determined to be a period of ten hours. The young person is on his own at night and starts again the following day. We have changed this so that the young person will not automatically go into single separation the following day. If he or she did not manage well the previous day and had a good night's sleep, it will not automatically mean he or she will be placed in single separation the following day. We have been breaking this down and reducing it. One could have a young person in single separation for eight or nine days. That has been the history and we are trying to change that by asking how we can get the young person to go out to the yard to exercise and to do so safely.

To put this in context, some young people will not want to mix with Tommy because he is not managing well. One is then in a scenario where Tommy, who is not managing well, needs to mix with the rest of the group. This has been a challenge. It has also been an interesting challenge for some young people who are managing well and decide they do not want to be tied up with a particular person. That is our problem and one we must overcome.