Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and all of his team for the work they have been doing in very difficult circumstances over the past few months. I express my condolences to the families and friends of those who have been lost to this awful disease over the past few months.

My mother is 92 and is in a local nursing home. She happened to be in Sligo University Hospital. As someone who have benefited from the system, I pay tribute to all of the front-line staff and all of the stakeholders for their work and perseverance in a very difficult time and for their understanding.

That has to go on the record of the Dáil today. We are very much indebted and I hope in future times that we will remember the great service of all these nurses, doctors, gardaí and everybody who has played such a great role. It is also very heartening to see all the organisations that are trying to help out front-line staff in getting funding for meals and so on. On the way to Dublin today, I was listening to the radio and there was an item that really caught the mood. I refer to Daniel O'Donnell and his really kind gesture outside Dungloe Community Hospital yesterday, where he had his outdoor concert. It encapsulated all that is good that has gone on in the last few months. It was clear from the patients and staff that there was a great feeling. This is something that we should really appreciate and be thankful for. I thank Daniel O'Donnell and everybody for the amount of work they are doing.

There are a few questions that I wish to ask. Would the Minister agree on the importance of Irish-based US pharmaceutical companies to the Irish economy? Given the comments of the US President last week, does the Minister believe there is a role which these companies, which have highly-skilled Irish workforces, could play in better assisting Ireland in areas such as testing during the Covid-19 crisis? How can we get the message out much clearer and quicker that people who are sick or worried about their health condition still need to go to their doctor to be assessed? There is a worrying drop in the number of cancer referrals, for example. As we know, all cancer has not gone away. Is there a new approach to achieve this? Based on anecdotal evidence from GPs, I think 25% of people are turning up at their practices. Perhaps at one stage it was far too high, I do not know, but it is worrying that not so many are going because of this Covid crisis.

In respect of public hospitals, can the Minister outline to the House when private patients will be able to get private procedures by private doctors and consultants? I understand what needed to be done but people are looking for a timescale of when this will occur. We all have everybody ringing us up over the last two months about procurement of personal protective equipment, PPE, asking who they should talk to in the HSE. I understand there is a website or email address that we all can send queries to. Even today I have heard from people from Canada, China, India and the whole lot. We want to go through the right channels. Is there an email that we can send on? I know the email address but it is no harm that everybody around the country can send it in. We do not want conflicts of interest when people are asking. It is great to have an email or web address to send queries on to. It would be no harm to highlight that again. There is an issue regarding capital health projects under construction. When will they commence on-site and will there be any consequences for projects not yet started but identified under the Project Ireland 2040 plan? Does the Minister have any comments on that? With the hit to the economy from Covid-19 it could be an issue.

One issue that is coming up now and again concerns dental practices. They have been suspended by the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET. They have maintained emergency dental services and are providing advice over the phone and arranging prescriptions with local pharmacies. However, the whole practice has collapsed to nearly 5% of normal. Routine dental care will start from 18 May but there is an issue with practices getting PPE. The cost has skyrocketed and they seem to be in competition with other agencies and organisations. Seemingly it is very difficult to source and dental teams are going to need an awful lot of PPE in the post-pandemic world. What exactly is the HSE doing? Are there any arrangements with dentists? It seems to be an issue. They get no support or subsidies from the State. Their sole income is private practice on a fee per item basis.

I had not been fully aware that dentists' situation is quite different to arrangements with medical GPs. Dentists say that they get no personal protective equipment, PPE, no financial support and very little guidance from the Government. I am sure there is guidance but perhaps the Minister could talk about that. We need the HSE to talk to the Irish Dental Association about new contracts for dental care post Covid-19. According to dentists it is long overdue. I look forward to the Minister's views on these points.

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