Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The first question I sent to the Taoiseach - we were asked to send them in writing in advance - was around the Government's response to the Covid-19 outbreak in nursing homes in terms of the steps that have been taken on such issues as personal protection equipment. Suffice to say - I would concur with most of what has been said in the House - initially it seems nursing homes were not in the frame or did not get the same focused attention as the acute hospital system did. If the Taoiseach remembers, at the outset the intensity was around the ICT infrastructure, the ICT capacity and what would happen if there was a surge. It seems that the nursing home side was left behind significantly. Notwithstanding that in the last fortnight there have been moves in terms of such matters as infection control, it seems that staffing is the core issue. There is a shortage of staffing. The delay in testing of essential healthcare staff and self-isolation meant staffing became even more critical. On personal protection equipment, PPE, we have all had repeated concerns about the absence or the shortage of PPE there.

Then there is the wider issue in terms of what some have talked about as the privatisation of nursing home care. In the last number of years there has been a reduction in the number of public care beds for the elderly. This has also happened in public healthcare settings. In the most recent case in terms of Maryborough psychiatric centre for the elderly, nine people have died over a three-day period. In Cork, in St. Finbarr's, for example, some weeks ago I called for transparency around that because there was a significant cluster there. There were significant concerns among the staff.

There are wider issues down the road that we have to consider post-Covid-19 but, essentially, on the issue of staffing, all efforts have to be made. Therefore, as home care is being pulled back, some of the providers there could be in a position to provide staffing if, for example, insurance issues and clinical indemnity were dealt with. The underpinning of the staffing issue is now the urgent requirement for many nursing homes. I would put it to the Taoiseach that is absolutely urgent and it is a matter of grave concern to all out there.

In terms of how this evolves, it is fair to say that there is still a significant degree of uncertainty around the virus and how it will evolve. We have talked about flattening the curve from the health perspective. Economists are now talking about flattening the trough of what will be a very significant economic depression ensuing here, Europe-wide and across the globe. The Taoiseach might indicate the internal thinking going on or processes in play in terms of working out how over the next number of months, in parallel with the health issue, the economic issue gets dealt with, notwithstanding, as I say, the challenges around uncertainty on that.

The key issue is testing and capacity to contact trace. There still are nagging doubts out there around all of that because of the various revelations that have happened over recent times in terms of figures, etc. I would appreciate if we could get the up-to-date position on testing and contact tracing.

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