Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is my maiden speech. However, I will dispense with most of the usual expressions of thanks because I want to have as much time as possible to outline the concerns of those in my community working and living in care settings. I extend my condolences to everyone who has passed away in my constituency and throughout the country. I heartily thank everyone who has supported me throughout the years I have been campaigning in Dublin West. They know who they are and I hope some of them are listening this evening.

I have been deeply concerned by the emails and phone calls I have received in recent days from parents, carers and staff of private residential care homes and private care home providers. I was contacted by a home care worker who provided support for an elderly person the previous week. He just found out that this person has sadly passed away from the coronavirus.

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The elderly person was ill but the care worker was not told that it was Covid-19. He did what every caring person would do and asked his manager what to do in the circumstances. He was told to go to see all the clients that he was scheduled to visit that day, possibly putting them at risk. I was also contacted by two parents of very vulnerable and high-risk children. They stated that their care worker, who came into their home that day, had been off work for two weeks. They were not informed by the HSE, the company or the worker that she had had Covid-19. Rather,they were only told that she had been on sick leave.

A very experienced and professional residential care worker told me yesterday that staff have been told that they do not have to wear PPE even though it is on site and available and that new staff who have no experience have been taken on. He also stated that, contrary to normal best practice, there is no shadowing with an experienced and trained member of staff and that this is leading to poor hygiene and could have poor outcomes for residents. He stated that staff have been directed by the HSE to wear equipment one day for exchange the following day. The staff are confused and there is much frustration while they try to care for residents in very difficult circumstances.

Officials from the HSE visited a particular care home but only spoke to its management rather than also consulting the staff. It is very important that such staff are consulted because they are the ones working with people on the ground. Last week, I spoke to a family member of a home care assistant who summed up the situation very well. She self-isolates as best she can between shifts. She is too tired, furious and upset to put into words how she is feeling. She has not hugged her children in weeks. They miss her but they are proud of her. She is risking far more than I am, than the Minister is and than she ought to have to risk.

What does the Minister have to say to these front-line workers for whom we clap every week? They have heard many big announcements but there has been poor delivery on some of those announcements. Do they all now have the PPE they need? Are there sufficient staff to provide the proper care that patients need? Will the companies which victimise workers who speak out be sanctioned? Can families availing of home care packages feel safe in the knowledge that home care workers who come into their home will not put their children and elderly relatives at risk? Will the Minister acknowledge that the private care system cannot cope with a pandemic and that we need to move to a one-tier system of care for our most vulnerable citizens?

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