Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and thank them for the work they have done on our behalf in recent years. In the context of the work that is going on, obviously the elderly are particularly vulnerable to Covid. I refer to the importance of the vaccination programme and booster campaign for the elderly. In the context of flu, which is of particular concern every winter, what lessons can we learn and extrapolate from Covid? I am thinking of HEPA filters in schools, for example. Should such filters be used in areas where elderly people congregate, such as small community rooms used for get-togethers on Friday mornings or funeral homes, which are generally small rooms. Funeral homes are often attended by a significant number of elderly people when a relative passes away. They may be there for two hours or two and a half hours. Are there lessons from Covid in terms of the continued use of hand sanitisation and possibly the use of masks by the elderly or immunocompromised in such settings?