Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. I thank our guests for attending, particularly those who have been with us a number of times. All of us welcomed the expert panel's report but it contains many recommendations and thresholds that need to be met in the future and the first question that would arise in anybody's mind is the level of sourcing that will be required. The Deputy who preceded me spoke about the difficulties relating to private sector involvement in nursing homes. I am aware of a nursing home proposition in our constituency that was refused by the banks because they said there was not enough profit in it. I am not sure that it is that profitable a business to be in. It may be for some but I doubt that it is for new entrants.

The bigger issue that all of this relates to is resourcing, either the lack of it or the drip-feeding that has gone on within the sector. All of us want to see an end to that but I will touch on a topic spoken about previously, which is community care. Significant reforms are needed in the area of community care, certainly for constituents of mine. We hear all the time of cases where people are allocated an hour but where the person who is providing the care might take 15 minutes to drive to the first client and another 15 minutes to go on to the next client. As a result, almost 30 minutes of the time is spent travelling. That is not sustainable. We have people who are hoping to get up and be showered but, essentially, what they are getting is a very quick wash from a hand basin, an egg and a bit of toast provided for them and then that person is gone out the door. If we are serious about looking after people at home, we need to reconsider the way we do that.

In terms of the multidisciplinary supports at CHO level, there are 23 teams. Can somebody explain how that process will work in the future for nursing homes that have potential cases of Covid-19 and they want to engage with the medics?