Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I join other Deputies in offering condolences to all the bereaved families and giving our full support to front-line workers. I will speak to a couple of other matters that may not have been addressed.

As the emergency rolls on and people live the pattern of the new normal, we are aware that despite the creativity and humour engendered by social distancing, this pandemic has the potential to take a toll on our collective psyche, mental health, well-being and resilience. The pressure keg of self-isolation and partial lockdown on the average household can be immense. We can add to the mix women and families experiencing domestic violence, Travellers on halting sites and people who are homeless or simply alone, with nobody to talk to, or in a vulnerable age category. I reiterate the calls from my colleague, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, for increased resourcing of domestic violence services like Women's Aid, the rape crisis centres and other women's refuges. I welcome the announcement from An Garda Síochána yesterday that its members will place a specific focus on families and individuals living with domestic violence in this period.

With regard to those in the trenches on the front line of this battle, we cannot imagine the incredible strain that people feel with the daily intake of those who have fallen to the coronavirus. They know that they are also at high risk of infection and they may face the prospect of going home and not being able to hug their loved ones. It is important that a full complement of supports is in place across our health system so that staff can be debriefed as they come off shifts and they can have access to online counselling, peer support and other support services if required. I ask that all staff working in our hospital settings, as well as those in section 39 providers, nursing homes and other settings, be included in this. It is my understanding that access to such services is very limited when we consider that healthcare workers are trying to manage childminding, home schooling and the maintenance of their own family's health through this crisis.

Occupational health departments are completely immersed in logging, reporting and directing towards isolation staff who are displaying symptoms of Covid-19. Previously offered counselling and support services are not accessible. A dedicated service that is accessible 24-7 is vital to the mental health of workers. There are workers on other front lines. These are in retail, pharmacies, delivery and postal services, and I appeal for employers to ensure they check in on staff regularly, with procedures put in place to keep staff safe, as they are dealing with very worried or distressed people.

My colleague, Councillor Maria Dollard, wrote to the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, earlier this week about the plight of section 39 care providers and nursing homes. We note with concern the emergence of clusters of Covid-19 in such settings and I appeal to the Minister to ensure all services for people with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, older people and other care settings, both day and residential, are afforded the same access to personal protective equipment and hand sanitation facilities as those in the public system.

There are anomalies in pay parity between section 38 and section 39 providers and this must be addressed as a matter of urgency, as must the differential in cost of care between public and private nursing homes. Section 39 providers have been left high and dry by successive Governments through pay inequality and funding cuts. This position has been made more acute by the imposition of efficiency measures in recent years that have left them at a point where they are begging for basic supplies of PPE. These organisations nonetheless provide an exceptional level of care beyond a basic social care model for service users.

I have some final points, with the first concerning bereavement support. Families grieving loss of a loved one caused by Covid-19 or an unrelated cause of death are being dealt the double blow of not being in a position to properly come to terms with their loss. It is often said that the Irish way of saying goodbye is, culturally, among the most empathetic and comforting in the world. Families are being denied that comfort due to the necessary restrictions imposed on funeral services for the duration of the health phase of this crisis. For many, that denial delays or holds back the grieving process, including the ability to come to terms with or celebrate the life of a loved one. I am sure there are similar services as the example in my constituency, Kilkenny Bereavement Support, which is giving voice to those who are silently grieving. Ours is an exceptionally professional but entirely voluntary service and it is important that bereavement support, counselling, suicide prevention and mental health charitable services are supported by the State at a time when the opportunity for voluntary fundraising has largely dried up.

Finally, I ask for some clarity from the HSE and the Government on the use of masks by the general population as a means of reducing infection. Several weeks ago a group of people in Kilkenny began making homemade masks from simple materials according to a template found online. The HSE issued a statement saying that masks are not effective in reducing infection, yet evidence from Thailand and Vietnam, where they are probably more culturally acceptable, has shown that masks did have an impact. Masks are now mandatory in Austria and the Czech Republic and the Cuban Government has recommended that people make them at home. People have lots of time on their hands. I note that the Irish Countrywomen's Association, ICA, is starting to make them. With a widely circulated template we could go into mass production of homemade masks. I would welcome clarity on this issue.

I thank our Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, and the Government for their ongoing work in leading us through this crisis and the co-operation and collaboration of all parties and Independents in the House. In particular, I wish Dr. Tony Holohan a speedy recovery. There was a collective sigh of relief across the country when he was back at his desk again this morning. We welcome that.

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