Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The duty for all of us living on this island is to be sensible, thoughtful, not to panic and to do everything we can to stop the spread of coronavirus. People are naturally concerned. The WHO has said we are in "uncharted territory". However, we are not in a war.

On this island, we now have nine confirmed cases, eight of which are linked to travel to Italy and one a case of community transmission in the North. As developments today have shown, the challenges we face are evolving. It is clear that the fight against the coronavirus must be a unified all-island effort. The acting Government in the South and the power-sharing Executive in the North must work as one. This means having a standardised approach to protect the health of everyone on the island of Ireland.

Both Administrations must be on their game in the co-ordination of health resources and in communicating the information needed to keep people safe. The coronavirus does not recognise any border and we simply cannot afford a partitioned response to this emergency. To that end, a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council should be convened as a matter of urgency.

The responsibility of government is to do absolutely everything to protect the public and to do so in the right and timely fashion. The acting Government has a responsibility to discharge its duties with the co-operation of all parties in the Dáil. We need a more structured involvement and an all-Oireachtas approach. That is the best way to ensure the response to this emergency is seamless, coherent and smooth when there is change of Government.

This is a very real challenge for our health services and national public emergency system. Right now, we need to start strengthening our health system. We need to increase capacity rapidly. We need to start opening beds. Not only do we need to open beds, but we need to ensure that no bed is closed. The acting Minister must give a clear commitment today that the beds opened as part of the winter initiative and due to close on 31 March will definitely be kept open. He must also confirm that the 220 community nursing home beds currently reviewed for closure will not be closed.

We need to ensure that we have sufficient capacity in ICU and isolation units to deal with this public health emergency. The embargo on hiring new nurses and doctors must be lifted immediately and a plan enacted to get people off trolleys urgently. Additional resources must be available, both to our health services and to other front-line services which may be impacted.

We also need to free up beds in our hospitals by ensuring that people who have recovered and are well are discharged from hospital as soon as possible. A specific and immediate focus on ramping up the provision of home help hours will facilitate this. There is an onus on government to ensure that people can be cared for in their homes for as long as is medically possible. A comprehensive and fully resourced home help action plan will also facilitate that.

There is also a need for employers to prioritise the well-being and welfare of their staff and the health of the general public. Advice and protection for workers must be guaranteed. We need to ensure that workers are protected and have the confidence that they can take any leave that is required. Such assurances will be extremely important as the situation progresses. Where a worker is unwell or at risk from this virus, he or she must feel free to come forward with confidence to self-report, reduce risk and protect himself or herself and the public.

Particular attention must be paid to the circumstances of low-paid workers and those in precarious working arrangements. Many workers live from week to week and the impact of losing out on pay due to self-isolating could be devastating. The cost of increased household bills and additional food supplies will undoubtedly be a source of stress. Everything must be done to protect incomes. Emergency legislation may be required to strengthen sick pay entitlements and workers' rights. If that is the case, so be it; let us do that.

There is now a need for an immediate, purposeful and focused engagement between employers, the trade union movement, the community and voluntary sector and the Government to work out a genuine partnership approach to the social and economic aspects of this emergency.

Attention has now justifiably turned to what should be done about large gatherings. Every decision must be made in the interest of protecting public health and safety. In no way should the health and welfare of the community or any individual be jeopardised. We need to be guided by what the doctors, the medics and the Chief Medical Officer tell us is needed to protect public health and safety. If the emergency team makes a recommendation that a gathering or event should be cancelled, that is what must happen.

The coronavirus emergency is also a very real challenge for our communities and families. This week, my own family has been affected. My two children attend a school that has been closed down. My son and daughter are now self-isolating at home. I can assure the Dáil that their initial delight at the gift of two weeks off school has well and truly passed. They have learned the meaning of the saying, "Be careful what you wish for." There are no visitors, no sports, no trips out with friends and no craic whatsoever. Reality has dawned on them pretty quickly. It is a trying time. Our family and school community have been thrown a bit of a curve ball, to say the least. I sincerely thank everybody who sent us good wishes over the last few days; it is deeply appreciated.

There is a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty. I know it will be the same now for the families affected by other school closures. Many parents might worry about how they might speak with their children and teenagers about the coronavirus. From my experience, such as it is, my best advice is this. Parents should not dismiss their fears or concerns. They should be honest, keep it calm and factual and, above all, make sure they know about the amount of work that is being done by so many people to fight the spread of this virus and keep them safe.

Young people often do not get the credit they deserve. We can forget how remarkably resilient, adaptable and compassionate our young people are. I have seen this in how my children and their school friends have handled this turn of events. They know that others have been affected in a far more serious way. At the heart of this situation are people who are sick. That is what is most important. Our thoughts are with those people and their families who are under enormous strain at this time. We know they are in hands of some of the very best medical staff in the world. We wish them a speedy recovery.

We face a public health emergency and a significant socio-economic challenge. It is an emergency and a challenge that we will overcome. However, we must avoid the mistakes of the past where ordinary people bore the brunt of economic downturns when Governments sought to cut their way out of a crisis, decimating public services and social protections.

The coronavirus outbreak has put up in lights why public healthcare is absolutely essential in a modern, globalised world. Public healthcare must be protected by government, not hollowed out for privatisation. Fully funded and resourced public healthcare is something to which we should all be committed. In truth, we are only as safe and healthy as the least protected in our community. Healthcare accessed on the basis of medical need not ability to pay is a sound principle. It is a fundamental of decent society and absolutely essential in preserving and advancing human health. In these times, as we come together in this crisis, I hope that lesson along with many others are learned by all of us.

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