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

I am sharing time in slots of seven, four and four minutes, respectively. If it is okay we will do four and three minutes for my slot, with four minutes for questions and three minutes for answers.

Earlier this month my husband was an inpatient in Beaumont Hospital. He had an operation for cancer. He is recovering now and is doing extremely well, but I want to take this opportunity to thank the healthcare workers in Beaumont, on behalf of myself and my family, for the care, kindness and compassion they showed to my husband. I am raising this because my husband's case is one example of the health service working really well and of the screening programmes working really well.

I have raised the issue of screening with the Minister on several occasions. I have some specific questions that I want to put to him today. We know that approximately 20,000 cervical screening appointments have been missed every month. That comes to over 60,000 since the start of the pandemic. I fully understand why the services had to be closed. However, the women - it is mostly women who are contacting me - are expressing dismay at the fact that there seems to be a concerted national effort to reopen tourism and hospitality but there is not the same emphasis on reopening and restarting the screening programmes. If the Minister opens the newspapers today or listens to the radio, he will read and hear all about 1 m versus 2 m, the substantial meal referred to in previous discussions - that was a feature of my youth coming back - and the bizarre suggestion that 90 minutes somehow gives more protection than 91 minutes. We have heard reports from Fergal Bowers that more than 2,700 people are waiting for an urgent colonoscopy and a further 19,000 people are waiting for a colonoscopy. I understand that the go-ahead for the resumption of services has been given. When will these services resume? What will the capacity be? Will the Minister commit to a comprehensive catch-up programme and an information campaign? Can the Minister confirm that he has sourced the additional laboratory capacity that will almost certainly be required to do the catch-up and restart the screening programmes? As requested the last time we spoke on this, I have sent the Minister the names of some women who have been affected. Will the Minister please follow up with them because that has not happened? I fully respect the fact that people are busy but these women are highly distressed.

Peter McVerry has said that addiction services are in crisis. We see a report today in the Irish Daily Mailon the disastrous consequences that resulted from the closure of the Keltoi drug rehabilitation unit in the Phoenix Park. Will the Minister commit to investigating the deaths which occurred following service users being discharged from Keltoi with little or no support? Will the Minister look into the concerns raised in writing by clinicians directly with HSE management regarding the risks associated with the closure of this vital support service? Can the Minister confirm that this facility will be reopened? Can he give a date for that reopening?

I also want to ask about services for people with intellectual disabilities, such as Prosper Fingal in my area. When will these services resume? People with intellectual disabilities and their families are at their wits' end. They see how their loved ones have regressed. They are looking at July provision. That is not going to be enough for them to make up the time that has been lost. The families are worried. They know the July provision will not be enough. Can the Minister give them a date for the resumption of the services, including respite services? The respite services are becoming absolutely essential at this stage. Can the Minister give a date? This would give them some hope that they might get some respite or relief. They are at their wits' end.

I note the pat on the back the Minister gave workers. He said we were all a bunch of troopers and referred to how we all go to work regardless. In a situation of a national emergency, a public health emergency and a pandemic, sick pay becomes an instrument of public health. I join with the Minister in saying to these workers they should not be troopers. They should join a union and ensure they get a decent sick pay scheme. If they cannot go to work, they should not go to work but they should ensure that does not put them into poverty. I do not believe these workers are troopers in that way. They want to do the right thing but they cannot afford to stay at home and that needs to change.

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