Dáil debates

Thursday, 2 April 2020

Health (Covid-19): Statements

 

3:50 pm

Photo of Mick BarryMick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I wish to start by expressing sympathy for all those who are sick and offering deep condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in recent weeks.

On the Order of Business, during a national emergency the accountability of Government is more important than in normal times. Allowing the voice and concerns of constituents to be heard is more important during a national emergency than in normal times. I am open to the idea of remote meetings but the Dáil should meet next week.

I wish to raise the issue of the tens of thousands of workers who continue to be called into work even though they believe their work is not essential and that company profits are being put before workers' lives. Workers at Ferrero in Cork continue to be called into work to make Tic Tacs, while workers at DePuy Synthes in Cork continue to be called into work to make artificial hips and knees in spite of the fact that elective procedures have been cancelled, the company's competitors have shut down and product is being stockpiled for future use and profit maximisation. Workers who find themselves in such situations have options. Relentless social media campaigning by the construction branch of the Unite trade union this week forced the closure of the construction site at the national children's hospital. A trade union campaign to get workers to contact the Health and Safety Authority en masseforced the closure of Stryker at Carrigtwohill in Cork. In other countries, workers have shut down their workplaces by walking off the job. It may be only a matter of time before that starts happening here. I urge workers in such situations who want good help and advice to contact the "Workers SpeakOut Covid19" Facebook page.

I welcome the fact that the State will have the use of the facilities of 19 private hospitals for the next three months. The private hospitals, such as the Beacon Hospital owned by Denis O'Brien, the Hermitage Medical Clinic, Blackrock Clinic or the Bon Secours chain, should not be compensated for this. The two-tier health system should not be dismantled this week and re-established in three months' time. Rather than develop these points in the limited time available to me, I wish to ask why the deal between the State and the Private Hospitals Association is, for the most part, a secret deal.

When the State does a deal with workers and their representative organisations, the details are usually published online, they are published in the newspapers and they are subject to scrutiny and public comment. However, when the State does a deal with billionaires and wealthy corporations in this instance, the details are being kept secret. Why is that? Is it because the deal has not been signed yet? Is it because the hospital association is insisting on commercial secrecy? Is it because the Government thinks there may be public criticism of the sums involved? The details of the deal should be published immediately and the secrecy around it should stop.

Extraordinary powers have been granted to the State by the Dáil and they are in evidence over this two-week period of lockdown. The overwhelming majority of the population is complying and will comply with restrictions in the interest of public health. However, we should not blind ourselves to the abuse of Covid-19 special powers in other jurisdictions, nor should we blind ourselves to the abuse of special powers in this jurisdiction in the past. This situation needs to be carefully monitored by organisations that defend the interests of workers, young people and oppressed groups and by those who defend civil liberties. As a workers' representative, I will do my best to help monitor this situation in the weeks ahead.

I want to raise issues I have been asked to raise by two groups of workers. First, the student radiographers went into the hospitals on Monday for their clinical placements. They will be doing chest X-rays for Covid-19 patients as part of their work. Many have had to give up accommodation for health and safety reasons and many have had to give up part-time jobs. They receive no pay or travel allowance for their placements. They should be paid. Second, the bus drivers at Broadstone garage have been involved in a dispute with Bus Éireann for the past few days because most of the busses do not have protective screens. The drivers have been stopping at the bus stops, asking passengers to stand back, getting off the bus themselves, allowing passengers on and then boarding the bus again without collecting cash. Rather than entering into a dispute with drivers such as these, who are frontline workers, the public transport companies should follow the example of the drivers and waive fares for the duration of the crisis.

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