Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 19 May 2020

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response

Briefing by HSE Officials

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Reid is very welcome. We thank him and the people he represents for all the work they are doing day in and day out. During the course of this pandemic, I have remarked on the manner in which HSE staff have stepped up to the plate. They have changed their work practices in the blink of an eye. I well remember politicians and commentators long bemoaning the fact that staff were the biggest obstacle to change in the health service. I think we have successfully busted that myth now and I sincerely hope nobody ever goes back to it because we saw staff stepping up to the plate in a way that has taken our breath away. They have been absolutely outstanding. Mr. Reid confirmed that.

This morning, I asked the CMO about the specific guidelines in place for construction workers and I asked if similar guidelines were in place for other workers. We now find out that we in this Chamber have very specific guidelines in place for health and safety reasons, which is important. However, I cannot understand where the line is being drawn between what happens in here and what happens somewhere else.

If two hours is the rule, two hours is the rule. If everyone has to self-isolate, they have to self-isolate. It should not matter whether they work in politics, in a meat factory or in a shop. How is that being managed and how are these guidelines being conveyed to workers?

While I am on the issue of workers, healthcare workers account for 31.4% of infections. Does this worry the HSE? Are there plans in place to reduce this figure? Are specific plans in place to protect workers? It is very worrying.

My last point on workers is that nurses are due a pay increase. Some of them have got it and others have not. Can the witnesses tell me what the delay is and where the blockage is?

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