Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Deputy O'Donoghue made the point about people working in construction. I was involved in a major chemical site many years ago. We were provided with everything from our steel toe cap boots to helmets, earmuffs and the whole shooting gallery. I had reason to write to the health service some time ago about people being provided with work wear or scrubs as they are called in the hospitals - these blue uniforms and things. I was on my way to one of the Dublin hospitals when I stopped in a supermarket to get a few sweets for the person I was going in to visit and there was a nurse in scrubs beside me. I agree with Deputy O'Donoghue. People should be provided with work wear. I am delighted that in St. James's Hospital when people finish their shifts, the scrubs are pushed into a machine and when people come in, there is a little door they open to get a new set of scrubs. That should be standard across all health services. The HSE when it responded to me was deeply concerned about the wearing of uniforms outside of the hospital. This arose as a result of Covid-19 and people bringing disease out and in with them.