Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ar dtús báire, cuirim mo chomhbhrón agus comhbhrón ár bpáirtí in iúl do gach aon duine a fuair bás mar gheall ar Covid-19 le tamall anuas, dá gclann agus dá gcairde atá ag fulaingt ag an am seo. I want to begin by expressing my sympathies to all of those who have lost their lives to Covid-19 - to those who lost a loved one, a friend or a neighbour as a result of this pandemic. The past number of weeks have undoubtedly left deep scars on families and communities across this island and our thoughts and our prayers are with all those who have been affected.

I also want to express solidarity with those who have contracted the virus, including our party president, Deputy McDonald, who is thankfully on the mend after several weeks of being very ill. We all look forward to her being back with us here very soon, and I thank the other party leaders for their words in this regard. Her words on Tuesday summed up the necessity to heed the public health advice that has been issued when she said:

Stay safe, stay home, stay apart. You do not want to get this virus.

I also pay tribute to all those who have been working on the front line at this time - doctors, nurses, carers and all of those working in our health sector from cleaners to the cooks and other support staff who are playing a blinder at this very difficult time. We will forever be in their debt for the work they are doing for all of us.

I also want to pay tribute to others who are making a massive contribution including the workers in our shops and supermarkets, those who are delivering products including the drivers, public transport staff and many more. All of them are doing an exemplary job in the most difficult of circumstances and they are all worthy of our praise and our thanks.

There are a number of important issues that I and my colleagues want to raise today. I will get to some of them in more detail when we have an opportunity in terms of the question and answer session. Before I do so, it is important to recognise that this House has a major part to play over the coming weeks and months. I want to recognise the presence of Deputy Alan Kelly as leader of the Labour Party and congratulate him, as I did privately beforehand.

While there has been broad political consensus in how we deal with the crisis, there are a number of important issues of public interest that need to be teased out here in the Dáil today. On the topic of the health crisis, which is the most pressing matter facing us as a nation at this time, I welcome the deal that has been struck between the HSE and the trade unions so that health staff can be redeployed to deal with the spread of Covid-19 in nursing homes. That is important. Despite that, however, the fact is that there is a massive crisis in the nursing home and care home sector. We are told that 200 clusters have been identified in nursing homes and residential institutions and that 245 people have died in care homes. That is over half the deaths in the State as a result of Covid-19 so far.

Some nine people died in Maryborough Centre for psychiatry in Portlaoise at the weekend alone. We can all agree that it is absolutely shocking to see those figures in that centre. Our thoughts are with all of the bereaved families at this time. However, the most regrettable thing about all of this is that the crisis in the residential care setting could have been foreseen. In fairness, Nursing Homes Ireland foresaw some of this. That body introduced visitor restrictions to nursing homes off its own bat on 4 March, but let us remember that in doing so it was criticised by the Department of Health for moving too fast. It was not until ten days later that the Department of Health gave its approval for such measures. It is fair to say that this has proved to be a monumental error and a fatal one for many of our most vulnerable citizens. Nursing Homes Ireland has stated publicly that it made numerous requests for a meeting with the Minister for Health and his officials in the early days of this crisis, but such a meeting was not forthcoming. I would be glad to hear what the Minister has to say on this. We must accept that the decision of the Department of Health in this regard has proven to be the wrong one. We need to have full clarity on what exactly is happening within our care home and nursing home settings. Hopefully a full report, with all the available information, can be provided to the House in that regard.

In the here and now, we all need to look at what we can do to ensure that those in residential care settings are protected and cared for. That means fast-tracking the implementation of agreed packages of measures in respect of staffing and improved access to personal protective equipment, PPE. A survey of its members carried by Nursing Homes Ireland last week showed that nearly a third of facilities, some 29%, were still awaiting PPE supplies. A quarter of facilities reported that PPE they had received so far was not fit for purpose. We need to get to the core of this issue. Staff at the Maryborough Centre in Portlaoise raised concerns about PPE two weeks ago. There were passionate pleas for the community to respond because equipment was not forthcoming. Unfortunately, as we know, eight people have now died in that centre.

This issue needs to be addressed. I would like to add that Dr. Jack Lambert of the Mater Hospital made a very valid point on the radio today about the redeployment of healthcare staff from across the healthcare system. He said that this needs to happen today. The question is whether that urgency will be injected into the system to ensure the outcome we all want to see, namely, that everyone in a residential setting, an acute setting or a care home setting is protected in any possible way. Can we ensure that the appropriate urgency is injected and staff are deployed to these nursing home sectors as soon as possible?

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