Mr. Jim Ryan:

As Dr. Finnerty said, it has obviously had an impact on our service users. We have tried to use technology to assist with this. Some of our organisations, such as the Irish Advocacy Network, have placed iPads in the approved centres to enable contact with patients. That has worked very well and we think it has a lot of potential. Parental visits are a key element of the therapeutic programme in child and adolescent units. We have looked at using our own transportation. Parents can come in by car. We have looked at a wide variety of ways to ensure a connection between the service user and his or her family, notwithstanding the need to ensure that public health guidelines are followed at all times.