Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to update the committee on Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021, the Government's plan for living with Covid-19, as well as on recent activity in Ireland's fight against this virus. I am joined by the acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ronan Glynn, the director of the national virus reference laboratory, Dr. Cillian de Gascun, and the chair of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, Professor Philip Nolan. Since we last met the committee five weeks ago, more than 7,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19. The numbers in hospital, including in intensive care, have risen considerably, with some hospitals now dedicating multiple wards to Covid activity and patients. Since March, 1,803 people have died. I would like to express my deepest sympathies, on my own behalf as well as on behalf of the Government, to their families and friends. I would also like to pay tribute to our healthcare workers and to their ongoing efforts this year in our fight against Covid-19. Some of them have also paid the ultimate price and lost their lives while working to keep the rest of us safe.

Since we last met the committee, a great deal has been done in Ireland's fight against Covid-19. One million students have returned to school. Hundreds of thousands are now returning to third level education. The Government launched Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021, the cross-Government approach to managing the pandemic for the next six to nine months. Chapter 1 of Ireland's efforts in response to Covid-19 involved closing down much of the country to flatten the curve. This roadmap is how we navigate chapter 2, keeping the country open by suppressing the virus. The strategy is to suppress the virus. It is public health-led and involves acting quickly and locally in targeting how the virus spreads in order to protect lives, health services, schools, colleges and jobs. I know the committee is keen to discuss the approach at today's session.

There are several other initiatives I would like to outline for the committee that relate to our fight against Covid-19 in the coming months. I am delighted to be able to share with the committee that I have sanctioned a doubling of our public health workforce capacity compared with pre-Covid levels. Building and supporting well-resourced and permanent public health teams is vital, as called for in the Sláintecare report. During the pandemic these teams have been charged with critical jobs including outbreak management, clinical queries, surveillance management, the operational management of surge capacity and complex contact tracing. They also play a key role in protecting all of us from other communicable diseases and environmental hazards. Prior to Covid we had 254 people working full-time across our public health workforce. We are going to double that number. In the next two weeks, the HSE will begin a recruitment campaign for 255 staff including public health doctors, nurses, scientists and support staff. I am also creating consultant posts for public health doctors. Yesterday, Cabinet approved the legislation necessary for this, and I will be progressing with this in consultation with unions. I would also like to share with the committee that I am today sanctioning €30 million for the continuation of the temporary assistance payment scheme for nursing homes. This will extend this much-needed support to nursing homes up to the end of this year. Further supports will be examined for next year in the context of the budgetary process.

As the committee will be aware, last week we launched the winter plan. As a result of Covid, this winter is going to be one of the most challenging our health service has ever faced. The winter plan is one of the ways we are supporting patients and our healthcare workers at this time. It is a €600 million plan that accelerates Sláintecare, keeping people in their homes, treating them in the community, investing in eHeaIth, providing GPs with access to diagnostics and funding 530 community beds, 57 community specialist teams and community assessment hubs. It also builds capacity in the hospital system. This includes funding for nearly 900 hospital beds, resources to triage Covid and non-Covid patients and additional resources for critical services, including cancer care.

Regardless of any amount of additional funding, we are faced with unprecedented challenges in healthcare in the coming months. What we have on our side is extraordinary healthcare workers in every county, city and town, in our hospitals, GP practices, community health teams and other healthcare facilities, in our nursing homes and voluntary sector organisations.

The healthcare system has shown since March an unparalleled ability to respond, innovate and adapt. We all owe health staff a great debt of gratitude. It is that spirit, dedication and professionalism we need in the coming months. All of our work starts and ends with patients. We are doing all we can to support patients and keep the public safe during these difficult times.