Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I wish to join other party leaders and Members in acknowledging the extraordinary national effort that we have seen in recent weeks. I wish to single out one particular person in this regard, our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tony Holohan, to whom we all owe an extraordinary debt of gratitude. We are exceptionally lucky that we have someone of his calibre who has insisted on operating on an evidence base. He comes with a major background of expertise in the area of public health. He has remained incredibly calm and on top of the situation throughout this appalling crisis.

It is interesting how, up to recently, many people would not have heard of public health. It is a small aspect of our health service and has traditionally been rather underfunded. Yet, we now see at this point of crisis how critically important the area of public health is. Clearly, Dr. Holohan is supported by a team of experts working day and night in this area. We owe them all a great debt of gratitude. It is also important to recognise all the health workers, in the broadest sense, throughout our health and social care services. I have in mind front-line people, including clinicians, but also the many support staff and administrators. Often administrators get a bad name and we say there are too many of them. At a time like this we are glad that we have them to do the vast amount of organisational and administrative work that needs to be done.

It is also important to acknowledge the great effort that we have seen on the part of other Departments and State agencies.

There is no question but that, in the main, all of those public servants have put their shoulders to the wheel. They have done extraordinary things that would not be seen or heard of in normal times. They have very willingly agreed to redeployment and to work extra hours, very often putting their own health in danger. We have seen an enormous effort and I believe we have seen the public service at its best.

It is very important that we recognise the importance of public servants. Part and parcel of that is recognising the critical role of the State in any society or economy. There are proponents of a small state but I would say to them that at this point of crisis, we are grateful for the fact that we have a reasonably well-functioning State. Let us learn lessons about the need to strengthen that State and ensure that, no matter what issues arise or crises or difficulties face us as a country, we keep a central role for the State.

The State is about public provision. The current crisis underlines the need for the public provision of services. Whether that is in the critical area of health and social care, childcare, housing or protection for tenants, we now realise, if we did not before, how essential it is that there is public provision of those key services. Sometimes people feel that public services are for the poor. We know that is not the case, and it should never be the attitude of society. Sometimes it is the case that people think they are for those who are marginalised and everybody else pays their way. At a time of crisis like this, we see the importance of the provision of public services that are universally available and I hope that the work that has been done in recent days and weeks, in terms of unifying the health service, will be work that will never be undone in this country.

Deputy Eamon Ryan referred to Sláintecare. What is happening now was described by one senior official as "Sláintecare on speed", and that is precisely what needs to be done and let us keep it that way. It is about having a unified, single-tier public health service that is available to people when they need it, irrespective of what money they have in their pockets. It is also about people pulling together, and the response from people with medical training all over the world and those working in other areas in this country has been quite extraordinary and encouraging in terms of the national effort and ensuring that everybody plays their part in providing services that are available and accessible to everybody. Let us learn those lessons. We must realise that we need to support all of the things I have mentioned, such as healthcare, childcare and good public housing, all of which are public goods, and ensure they are publicly provided.

It is also important to recognise the role of the community and voluntary sector, which swung into place quickly and is doing extraordinary work. GAA clubs, residents' associations and community groups stepped up quickly to support older people and the vulnerable and ensure that we are putting a blanket of care around people. Most of all, it is individuals who have responded most encouragingly to this crisis. People have taken it upon themselves to take responsibility for their health and safety but, more importantly, through their co-operation with the guidelines on social distancing and all of the other guidelines provided they have taken responsibility for public safety and good public health. That is really encouraging and shows people living in Ireland at their best.

We also have to recognise the work of retail workers, suppliers, hauliers and other critical workers who maintain the supply chains on which we are all so dependent. They deserve our gratitude.

At a political level, there is a high level of co-operation across political parties.

Key to maintaining that, of course, is good communication. Communication must be open and it must be two-way. We are all in this together at every level in Irish society and that means politically that we are in this together. That is why, in approaching this crisis on that basis, we have had a high level of success to date and there has been little, if any, attempt to score political points. It is essential that it continues like that. For this to happen it is important that there is openness, enthusiasm or determination to ensure timely responses to issues that are being raised by us right across this House because we are a filter for the public. Often we are the first line of contact for people looking for information. If we are in a position where we are given good quality, timely information, we can disseminate that to our constituents and help in the national effort. Of course, it is two-way then because we are finding out at a very early stage where there are problems in relation to supplies, services and responses to the Government decisions that are taken and it is important that we have a mechanism for feeding those back into the policy area. I ask the Government to pay some attention to that. I appreciate everybody is under a lot of pressure but we need to pay attention to that. That is essential if we are to maintain the cross-party united response to this crisis.

There are clearly significant issues in relation to procurement. Across all of the products required urgently, there is a worldwide competitive market. The HSE is doing its utmost in that. I refer to particular individuals. Dr. Colm Henry, especially, is worth noting in terms of his efforts. Not only should we be accelerating those efforts but the Government also needs to play a role in accelerating efforts to produce and manufacture any of those products that we possibly can here. Probably more attention could be given to that.

The messages have been heard and in the vast majority of cases, there is a very positive response. There are outstanding issues in relation to childcare. We have talked about how childcare arrangements might be made for healthcare staff - that has not yet materialised - and wage replacement, which I will reference later. At a European level, the noises from Europe are positive. There is no doubt about that. We must insist on the principle of solidarity prevailing throughout this. I welcome talk of the issue of eurobonds or coronabonds. That needs to happen soon. We must not ignore the lessons of the past where, when this country was in difficulty in the not-too-distant past, there was severe austerity. The issue of who the burden falls upon is a critical issue. We must learn the lessons of the past to ensure that when we come through this crisis and get to the point of recovery, it is a recovery for everybody and that particularly vulnerable sections of the community do not pay a heavier price than others.

The nightly figures are, I would say cautiously, holding reasonably firm and that is thanks to the efforts of everybody throughout the country. It is important that there is absolutely no complacency in this. While the figures are encouraging, there will still be a surge. We are all clear about the message about the need to flatten that curve and to ensure that the surge, when it comes, is stretched out as long as possible so that the health services are not overwhelmed. I say, to everybody involved at every level, "Thank you."

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