Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair for allowing me in. This session was incredibly interesting. It was my first time to attend the committee. Many important points were made and questions asked. As the Chair stated, the rate of infection among healthcare workers is one of the things that will need to be looked at further. A significant amount of the discussion today dealt with issues unrelated to the issues of childcare. That reflects how we arrived at the current situation. Throughout the Covid crisis, children were relegated to a secondary position. Issues relating to children and childcare were not given the focus they required. Childcare was to be the focus of this session and we should reflect on that.