Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the witnesses for their presentations and statements. I am sorry but I am used to standing up in the Seanad Chamber, where Members all stood up to speak. The real stand-out line for me is from Fórsa, which is that it can state to the committee that a significant number of staff today are providing personal care to students without adequate PPE. Have we learned nothing from the nursing homes, where we sent in care assistants to look after elderly and vulnerable people with Covid-19? Have we learned nothing? It is an absolutely shocking statement that SNAs are going in to look after the most vulnerable students without any PPE. It must be investigated as a matter of urgency. My first question to each of the trade union representatives, because many serious questions have been raised here today, is how often he or she is meeting the Ministers. Are they meeting the Ministers, Deputies Foley and Harris, on a regular basis to address some of these issues? I am quite alarmed that meetings to discuss such serious issues have been refused. Perhaps Fórsa could answer first.