David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My time is almost up so I would like to put a question to Mr. Landers and to the IMO if I may. We cannot do justice to all of these issues today. We have only ten minutes to go through them all. Obviously, I accept the constraints but it is very difficult, given the number of issues involved, including the haphazard roll-out of the vaccine and the battle that healthcare unions are having to wage to secure access to PPE for their members, which is ridiculous. It is crazy and the fact that there have been very few, if any, inspections by the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, in hospitals is a scandal. We need to hear from the HSE, the HSA and others. All of the opening statements today are harrowing and that is the reality for those on the front line.

Mr. Landers made reference in his opening statement to an issue that I have also spoken about, namely the tsunami of missed care that is facing our healthcare services. A huge volume of care, described as non-essential, was paused but that care becomes essential very quickly. This will put enormous pressure on staff on the front line. What needs to be done to best position us to deal with that missed care, given the burnout and low morale among staff, not to mention the lack of capacity in our hospitals? I ask Mr. Landers and the IMO if it is the case that we are facing a tsunami of missed care and to outline what needs to be done.