Mr. Paul Reid:

I thank the Senator. I will try to respect her time and be brief, and pass her questions to my colleagues. Mental health is something which we are highly cognisant of and concerned about because our community and hospital systems are telling us about people who are presenting who have experienced anxiety, stress and mental health issues during Covid. We are always concerned about mental health.

On the winter plan, as part of the national service plan for 2021 the investment which we are working through at the moment provides for investment in mental health to be prioritised. It is obviously geared towards A Vision for Change and the new strategy for mental health. For this year and next year there are incremental investment targets for mental health which we fully support.

On the workforce, we have an extensive set of supports in place for our workforce around mental health, employee assistance programmes and other psychosocial supports. I have openly communicated with staff via video and have encouraged people to come forward when they feel stressed or anxious and avail of the supports there for them. It is something of which we are highly cognisant.

There has been significant investment throughout Covid in homelessness services. The winter plan involves work across agencies and Government Departments. Some of the successes during Covid were the protection of the homeless, finding accommodation for them and putting in place a wide range of supports around that. I will ask my colleague to address the other questions.