Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I add my voice to the congratulations to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. He comes into the role with a wealth of experience. It is very important that the new Minister can hit the ground running. Of all the Departments within the new Government, this Department perhaps has the most challenges. It is welcome the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, knows what needs to be done straight away.

I also add my voice to the thanks to the people who work on the front line. If anyone was in any doubt, last night's programme hit home the level of compassion, care, volunteerism and of going over and beyond what is necessary. The programme was a testament to them. We salute all our heroes across the many aspects of our health service and all the people who have worked on the front line in the past weeks.

I have a number of specific questions on which I hope the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, can come back to me today or later on. With regard to public health consultants within the area of community infection prevention and control, I understand there is an issue around their contracts and the threat of a strike. The area of infection control is important and I wanted to bring this to the Minister's attention as something he needs to look at very early in his tenure.

As we discuss supplementary budgets, will the capital budgets announced at the beginning of the year be ring-fenced? Is there a guarantee that projects committed to, for instance, a particular hospital or service, will proceed? I am thinking, for example, of the MRI scanner for the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar. It was part of the 2020 service plan. Some €2 million was allocated to the building of the hospital wing that would accommodate this scanner, for which local community groups fundraised. The funding is now in place and I want to ensure the money ring-fenced for this will be there, and that the scheme can advance during this year.

I turn to the advice by NPHET around places of worship. Last week a decision was taken that one size does not fit all. Comparing a small rural church to a big cathedral that may hold 2,000 people, then regardless of the size of a church, restricting numbers to 50 people does not work. The church authorities have made a lot of effort to try to bring about proper protocols so they could commence holding confirmations and Holy Communions. I have been contacted by many families in my constituency who are worried that these sacraments cannot proceed for their families. I am quite conscious that not everyone will be worried about this as an issue but there is a sizeable number of people in our constituencies who are worried. The original guidelines were reversed and then the reversal was further reversed. I ask the Minister to bring clarity to the matter so that people will know, depending on the size of the church, whether or not the 2 m rule will be adequate to ensure the protection is in place. Nobody is talking about compromising public health.

We should never waste a crisis. Covid-19 has identified an opportunity to bring about the necessary reforms within the HSE so that the people for whom the HSE was established to serve are best served. We need to ensure there is no longer a situation where the delivery of a treatment or service depends on the region of the State a person lives in or how deep his or her pockets are. Treatment and service should be universally available to everybody depending on medical need. If the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, can ensure this happens during his tenure, then it will be a job well done.

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