Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha:

In the here and now, the respondents to our survey made it very clear that a telephone helpline is not sufficient.

They want practical post-traumatic stress support. They describe what they are now enduring as post-traumatic stress. They are saying they are fearful of the ability of their employer to keep them safe. They are also quite determined that they will work and are happy to go to work but they must be protected.

We call on this committee to look to the Health and Safety Authority, which is the statutory body with responsibility to ensure workplaces are safe. We must have that comfort for the people we represent who are to the forefront of keeping citizens safe and making them better. The figures from our intensive care units and the recovery from this pandemic are down to the good work of those healthcare workers who spent their time beside the patients in those beds making sure they recovered. It is really important we do not forget that. Right now, what we need is the assurance that somebody other than the employer is determining that the workplace is safe. That is imperative and this committee has the authority to make that recommendation. We call upon the committee members to do so.