Mr. Paul Longmore:

I thank the Deputy for the question. I echo much of what Mr. Rogan said. One of the key lessons for us in Jigsaw and part of what we have been told by young people during the Covid-19 restrictions is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. There is no single way of providing a mental health service which works for everybody or meets everybody's needs. We have worked hard to provide a suite of offerings to provide access to as many young people as possible. These include working via telephone, video call and live webchat, asynchronous communication via email and the reintroduction of our face-to-face services. The most effective approach is to tailor our clinical therapeutic offering to the unique circumstances and preferences of the young person and his or her family. That is what is most likely to have good outcomes.

We are trying to have a suite of services that offers choice to young people, that is flexible and adaptable and which can therefore reach as many young people as possible. The young people who avail of our services are more likely to receive a service which is suitable and effective for them and which provides them with a good outcome. There can sometimes be a temptation to think that there is a holy grail, that there is one way, and maybe that is online. We have found that online does not suit everybody in the same way that face to face does not suit everybody. Having a suite of offerings is the best way to offer a quality mental health service to as many young people as possible.