Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for engaging with the committee and for their opening statements. The role of the Samaritans in this country over the past 50 years has been immense. The humility of the volunteers and their non-judgmental listening has had a major effect on those who seek the help of the Samaritans. It is testament to the Samaritans as well. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of people alive today in Ireland because they reached out and people listened to them and changed the course of their lives. I thank the Samaritans for that.

As often happens when one is the last speaker most of the questions I had intended to ask have been asked and answered. However, I have one question for the witnesses. The pandemic has been traumatising for the world. It has had a significant effect on people.

What are the legacy issues of the pandemic in regard to loneliness and people who found themselves in that position? What issues have been encountered? Now that the pandemic is approaching an end, what legacy issues will still occur in regard to the collective in society, but also the individual? There is no individual without a collective andvice versa. That is important because what we have seen in the past 18 months, especially in Ireland, is people coming together, unlike at any time in our living memory. When people come together, they can do extraordinary things, and they have done extraordinary things. There is a collectivisation in terms of how we can overcome a terrible pandemic and that is the best of humanity. We have seen that, but there are also certain things that happened over the past 18 months that have left a serious chasm and a legacy. From the daily observations of those in the Samaritans, what are the legacy issues from the pandemic that we need to deal with?