Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

If we continue with the existing measures in nursing homes, for example, requiring that visitors do not have physical contact with residents and that all staff are masked and gowned and limiting group activities, it will seriously compromise the quality of life of people who live in nursing homes. Strict infection controls and measures for visitors' use of PPE could be acceptable in acute hospital settings where stays are for days or weeks. However, subjecting people living in nursing homes to those types of restrictions could make their quality of life very poor. A balance must be struck between quality of life and reducing risk. Have the witnesses considered that issue?