Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact a Cabinet sub-committee has been set up and that we are not forming another committee. However, I want to put this matter in context. Most Members are in receipt of a letter from 4 March from Fórsa on capacity. It stated:

The scale of the closure orders in relation to primary care is a significant shock to the overall health system in the west. It is unprecedented and I have not witnessed that scale of service closure in my two decades working as a trade union official... More patients will end up in hospital for longer because they cannot be discharged or fully avail of...services.

I will not read out the two pages of the letter in the interests of brevity. However, it clearly points out that we have a current crisis and that there are major closures planned in primary care. We are talking about capacity concerning this virus. We need to get real and put it in perspective. There is a crisis as is.

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