69 percent of young people living in very rural areas of mid- and north-west-Cork say that their mental health was the area of their lives most adversely affected by the lockdowns.
That's according to an in-depth academic study, carried out on behalf of IRD Duhallow, looking into the effect of the lockdowns on 220 young people aged between aged 16 to 35 in the Duhallow/Lee Valley regions.
The Irish Examiner is reporting today that the "lockdown of schools, cancellation of GAA matches, and closure of youth clubs/pubs seriously curtailed their social interaction, with many spending too much time on social media and others seriously worrying about the negative impact on their education."
The paper says that HSE South has agreed to fund a full-time community mental health worker in the area as a result of the survey's findings.