Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Our sympathies must go out to the families who have lost their loved ones, and our thoughts and support must go out to them in these shocking times. The support of all, including the State, must also go to our health and front-line workers and the people in the community and voluntary sector who deliver meals on wheels. All this is hugely important to the people in their homes at this time. The postmen and postwomen are working tirelessly.

PPE is vital in the fight to prevent people from contracting Covid-19. Health workers in many areas, whether in nursing homes or home help, still have little or no PPE. I have been contacted time and time again by home help workers who have no PPE whatsoever. They are going door to door and are on the front line. They deserve more respect than to be left without PPE and we need clarity as to why that has happened. It leaves them wide open and very upset. Why are the health workers left without this equipment?

Many Deputies have mentioned delayed results. I have had numerous calls from people who have been waiting two or three weeks for results, even the other day someone with stage 4 cancer pleading for his results. He will not be allowed get his treatment until he gets his results. It is not good enough that he is waiting for them. I was even told the other day by someone who left the country on essential business that our airports are carrying out no restrictions whatsoever. He sat on the aeroplane as he would sit at any other time in recent years. There are no restrictions whatsoever on people flying out of our country. Surely the airports and airlines must have the same restrictions as everywhere else.

Concerns in the community must be looked into. I respect that the Taoiseach has no magic wand to resolve all, but there is upset, especially among people over 66 years of age who are working. They feel badly done by. They are not asking for €350 in Covid money but are asking for the difference between their pension and the Covid payment to be given to them. They paid their taxes and continue to do so but have now been forgotten, just like rural social workers. These are part-time farmers or fishermen, many on the front line, delivering meals on wheels daily to people who need them urgently. They have lost their farming and inshore fisheries income and are left with €220 a week to raise their families. They surely deserve to have the difference made up to them, just like those aged 66 and on a pension. The only relief many of those over 66 have got in the past few weeks, after adhering to strict stay-at-home guidelines, is a grant of up to €500 from the Irish Red Cross and Age Action Ireland, two great organisations. This was to help with the comfort of our elderly. Applications were meant to be in by the end of August. Yesterday, unfortunately, it was announced that that application date had been brought ahead to tomorrow at 5 p.m., leaving tens of thousands of people who were looking for a few quid's worth of comfort unable to get their applications across the line on time. I urge the Taoiseach that the State step in to help these people at this time. As I said, they are staying at home, they are adhering to the rules and they need help. I ask the State to consider stepping in and helping the Irish Red Cross and Age Action Ireland on this issue.

Another issue affecting the elderly in Cork is the mail delivery service. The mail delivery centre in Cork was closed and moved up to Portlaoise. Now elderly people and many other people trying to conduct business tell me their mail has not come for four or five days. Elderly people are ringing me saying they cannot get their Southern Starnewspaper. Delivery is taking a week. These are small bits of communication these people need. In fairness to the Minister, he did give extra capacity to the broadband and mobile phone companies. This is very important at this time because many people are trying to work from home and in rural settings. However, is that being fed down into the rural areas where these people have returned to work? At the moment it has not in Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Bantry. People living in such places have been on to me continuously.

The islands' economies are dependent on tourism. Due to the fact that islands are now closed to everyone but residents, that summer events have been cancelled and that ferries are running basic services, the islanders are worried. The populations of the islands had stabilised but they are now in a position whereby they might lose some of their people to the cities. What thought has been given to this? Again, I understand that a significant number of issues are at play but these are people's concerns. Tourism is the backbone of so many communities throughout the country. The hotel sector, cafes, restaurants and publicans are all in need of direction from the State because they are not sure where we are going. Will they be able to open their doors this year? If not, is something in place for them so that they can at least survive this crisis? We must look beyond this crisis. I need to talk about the farming and fishing sectors but I will do so at a later stage.

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