Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the witnesses, in particular those who have come before us and have been generous with their time. The SIPTU submission states:

There is no doubt that the experience of the pandemic has taught us many lessons. These experiences must form part of our planning for the future. In many cases, services were unprepared and did not have the essential equipment or training to support and protect healthcare workers in the fight against Covid-19.

My questions are on the basis of that assertion. How much better prepared will we be in the event that there is a second wave, as much as we hope that does not happen? Will we be better prepared? Do we have the requisite number of staff in place? Will the necessary equipment be available? I ask these questions in the context of what was referenced by Ms Ní Sheaghdha, namely, the flu.

I am on the record as having said that we have had a succession of Ministers for Health in this State who seem to be surprised when flu breaks out at the exact same time every year. In the context of the potential for an increase in hospital attendances because of the flu and the reduced number of beds that will be available because of physical distancing, is there additional capacity in the system to take up that slack?