Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, I want to convey my sympathies to the families of all those who have passed away in the nursing home setting at this time, and to acknowledge the trauma for families and, equally, for nursing home staff.

The focus today is very much on Covid-19 and how that has hit the nursing homes but, in the interests of balance, it is important to acknowledge that many nursing homes remained free of Covid. Equally, with regard to the nursing homes that were hit by Covid-19, it was not just peculiar or particular to nursing homes and it is what we are living with currently. There needs to be balance in the whole discussion.

Deputy Butler put it superbly when she acknowledged that in any crisis situation, the measure will be what we learn from it. In that respect, I would like to point to the fact there was quite an amount of confusion and lack of clarity at the outset as to how things were operating within the nursing homes. Nursing homes were told that patients were to remain in nursing homes and not be transferred to hospitals yet, at the same time, patients were being discharged from hospitals and brought to nursing home settings without testing. All of that confusion did not help the situation.

Equally, it is my understanding that on 14 April the HSE informed HIQA that due to difficulties in sourcing PPE it would not be possible to provide the three day baseline for PPE, as promised, and PPE would be directed to those areas termed greatest risk. On that particular date, 14 April, the number of clusters in nursing homes had risen to 158. There was a litany of confusion and lack of clarity but going forward, and I have discussed this with a number of nursing homes in my own constituency, is there an ongoing commitment from the HSE to provide PPE or is there a cut-off date?