Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last night I received from the Minister's Department a reply to a parliamentary question that advises me the bed capacity in the public and voluntary system, not including private beds, has increased to 11,907. This means that because of Covid-19 we have been able to increase the capacity in our public hospitals by 1,407 beds compared with what the bed capacity review said we had in 2018. This is an increase of just over 1,400. The Minister will be aware, because I have been saying it to him for a long time, that along with the health sector unions - the INMO, the IMO, SIPTU, the IHCA, Fórsa and others - we have been calling for all closed beds in our hospitals to be opened. It is very frightening to think that when we had more than 700 patients on trolleys in our hospitals, more than 1,000 beds remained closed purely and simply because the Minister would not tackle the recruitment and retention crisis to ensure we could get the necessary staff to be able to open those beds. It beggars belief when one considers that very often it did not even make the news. It is hard to conceive of it now. When one speaks of waiting lists, it is a little like déjà vu.It hardly even made the news unless it was close to 700 or more. That was a daily occurrence and now we find that the beds in the system did exist and what they simply needed was the staff.

I am looking for a breakdown of where these additional beds are, by hospital, and I will take that in writing if the Minister can provide it. I want a commitment from him that, as we exit the Covid-19 crisis, he will ensure that every hospital bed which has been opened in the public system will remain open because they will all be needed.

I am also seeking an update from the Minister on how many beds will be temporarily set aside in the public hospital network to take account of the additional infection control measures. I am being told informally that this could take up to 25% of the beds out of the acute hospital system. That is deeply worrying. To be cognisant of infection control measures, will the Minister provide an update? Is the figure of up to one quarter accurate? Will he confirm that as these beds start to be reopened, and some will, this will happen in accordance with the safe staffing level agreement reached with the INMO? It is just over a year since nurses and midwives were on the picket lines looking for safe staffing. There is an existing agreement that has set the benchmark on what is safe, and I and others seek confirmation from the Minister that he will adhere to the agreement.

I am also seeking an update on the restarting of care. I appreciate what the Minister said in respect of screening. This is an issue I have raised on many occasions with him. I welcome the confirmation but what we need to see are dates, firm timeframes and a commitment that the missed care will be caught up on. Will the Minister confirm that there will be a twin-track approach to this? Will there be a catch-up programme? Most importantly, will there be an information programme for women? Many of us will be nervous and anxious going back to the screening service. We know how important it is, and we have spoken at length about it, but I want to be able to say with confidence - and I want to have the confidence myself as a user of the service - that people can go back. We need that information campaign. It is absolutely imperative.

With regard to restaurants opening up in June, will the Minister confirm that pubs with restaurant licences will be able to open at the same time? Anyone who is as old as I am will remember in the late 1980s and early 1990s when we had to get a bag of chips or a plate of manky curry for the venue to be able to continue to serve alcohol.

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