John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

What is the medium-term outlook for the 2 million people who hold private health insurance in the country? That is a straight question. Many people have held private health insurance over a lifetime - 30 or 40 years in many cases.

The Minister might be in a position to comment on the guidelines for dentists.

A number of psychotherapists and counsellors have been in contact with me asking when they can begin to practise again. Can the Minister give a date for them?

Youth workers working in community settings, as part of drug task forces or with youth and community groups have not been considered essential workers as part of this crisis. That is a lesson we could all learn. When can they go back and interface with their clients?

I wanted to make one point that connects with the fact that society has made considerable sacrifices to protect the vulnerable, a good block of whom are elders. The great paradox is that having done that, the greater swathe of those who have succumbed to the virus are elderly people in congregated settings. The State mobilised an incredible cross-community effort in that regard and that same dynamism is going to be needed for the generation who face a trinity of calamities. The generation that has had to face the outcome of the financial crash and shoulder the burden of climate action will also have to deal with the outworkings of the consequences of the pandemic. The Minister might have a comment to make about where we, as a society, should go with that.

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