Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha:

There was great difficulty with getting personal protective equipment to begin with, particularly in the private sector. The biggest issue was the wearing of face masks. As the Deputy knows, there was a lot of debate about whether we should wear them. The HSE did not introduce until 22 April a policy that made it mandatory to wear face masks in healthcare settings. I gave evidence before the committee previously, and in our survey nurses give testimony on this point, of nurses being instructed not to wear face masks. This was simply the wrong policy. We knew from international evidence it was incorrect. They were instructed not to wear face masks. One nurse was actually disciplined for wearing a face mask. We now know, thankfully, that face masks contribute to the protection of healthcare workers.

There are various grades of face masks. If I am working in an intensive care unit or an area where I am engaging in aerosol generating procedures, I must have a higher quality face mask. All of this was too late. On 22 April, following the unions in this room requesting and constantly asking the HSE to change its policy, it eventually did so on 22 April. That was very late. Ms Murphy and her colleagues were working on a Covid ward from just after St. Patrick's Day. The point is that personal protective equipment was a big factor. It definitely has improved but we cannot risk the fatigue and exposure again.