Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I cannot be so arrogant as to presume that I will be a part of the next Government, but I accept the broader point the Deputy makes on the need to do healthcare differently. The advice I would give to the Oireachtas, whoever is Minister for Health and whoever is in Government is that we must do two things. We will have to put the capacity in place, and that means beds and staff. The second thing that Covid-19 will make us do is what we should have been doing anyway, which is new models of care. That involves hospital avoidance, keeping people in the community and telemedicine. I have had some interesting meetings over the past week with the INMO, SIPTU, and the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO. They are up for it, as are disability services providers. It is models of care alongside capacity.

I accept this will require significant investment in Donegal as well.

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