Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

While I agree that all our health employees are on the front line, there are some who are more visible and of whom we think more quickly. My thoughts turn to those who are often less visible but deserve support in protecting their health so we can keep their services running. One thing that comes to mind is the child protection services, which are under unique pressures at this point as many of the supports for children at risk, such as teachers, coaches and youth workers, are not present in children's lives any more due to social distancing. Tusla has introduced some changes to work practices, but many home visits still have to happen. Social workers are reporting a huge difficulty to me - the Irish Association of Social Workers has commented that its members are also having difficulty - in accessing personal protective equipment, PPE. This does not necessarily mean the high-tech stuff one would see in hospital settings. They struggle to get such simple things as gloves or hand sanitiser. While I understand that Tusla has engaged with the suppliers, clear timelines and supply routes must be identified to ensure that these services can continue by keeping the staff healthy.

There is also a wide variety of community groups, NGOs, volunteer organisations, homecare providers, carers and family carers that provide help and support to a wide variety of vulnerable people who rely heavily on that support. These organisations often fill a gap in health provision left by the State. Now more than ever, we cannot abandon them again. We must ensure they can continue to support these vulnerable people. I welcome the efforts the Minister mentioned at the beginning.

My colleagues, Deputy Neasa Hourigan and Mr. Sean McCabe, have been dealing with this. While we welcome the efforts thus far, there must be clarity on where the supplies of PPE are coming from and when they will be available. There must be clear supply routes and schedules for these people. Many of these groups receive little or no funding from the State and as such might be invisible to the HSE. It is imperative that a needs assessment is carried out for those in the community who are supporting vulnerable people, no matter where they are based, so we can get a clear picture of what is needed and how we can get it out to them. If these people are not linked to the HSE or other sources of State funding, they may be invisible. It is very important that we capture family carers and home carers and ensure they have the PPE needed to protect their health so they can continue to support the health of the people they are caring for. It is also imperative that the HSE issues improved guidance specifically for the people doing this kind of work. Much of the available guidance is generic public advice for non-clinical settings, but this kind of work involves very close contact. Support and information will really help the people doing this kind of work.

Has any Covid-19 related funding been set aside for these kinds of groups? As my colleague, Deputy Noonan, stated, many section 39 organisations are struggling with funding cuts at present. Many other groups operate on a shoestring budget. The current difficult times are really placing them under a lot of stress. Specific Covid-19 related funding should be identified for these groups.

This has become quite pressing with today's reports that some home carers will be redeployed to nursing homes.

This makes the situation for carers even more acute. What plans have been put in place to backfill this need that is being created? Getting a homecare package can be a struggle. The lack of replacement for those who are to lose them will be devastating for them. Many of these are people who in the best of circumstances, without a homecare package, may end up in an acute hospital. The last thing anybody needs now is extra pressure needlessly being placed on our acute hospital system. What is being done to backfill homecare supports and packages where people are being forced into self-isolation, people are becoming sick and carers have been redeployed into a nursing home to support the crisis in that sector?

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