Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I wish the Minister of State the very best in her new portfolio.

I welcome the opportunity to highlight the incredible effort and sacrifice made by our older people in recent months as we navigated the Covid-19 era. I cannot overstate the significant changes Ireland's older people made to their daily lives in order to adhere to public health guidelines and those efforts must be commended. For the countless grandparents the length and breadth of Ireland who missed their grandchildren's birthdays and for those who remained cocooned at huge personal sacrifice and chose to act responsibly, the changes were significant.

I previously raised the issue of mental health being the next big challenge arising from Covid-19. Older people have played such an important role in containing the impact of this pandemic. We must recognise, however, that they need support to continue doing so. To give one example, I am aware of a Castlebar woman in her 80s who set foot outside the house only twice since March, despite being in reasonably good health. She did so once for a healthcare appointment and the second time to visit a supermarket. Some of our older people, who once yearned to remain living at home for as long as possible, are now suffering from chronic loneliness and a sense of withdrawal from society as a result of being voluntarily housebound. Thankfully, we have a programme for Government which takes account of Covid-19. However, we need to update existing policies and strategies, such as the national positive ageing strategy, the Irish national dementia strategy, the housing options for our ageing population statement and the national carers strategy to ensure they are fit for purpose in what is now a changed world.

I for one want to ensure that our older people feel their sacrifices over the past few months have been recognised and that they feel confident their Government and we, as a Parliament, have plans in place to bring some degree of normality back to their lives. It seems fitting to quote the phrase that a nation's greatness is measured by how it treats the weakest members. However, I do not think this fits what has been seen over the past few months by Ireland's older people. In the face of a pandemic the likes of which none of us has ever witnessed, they stood resilient and ever-willing to play their part for their communities and families by putting service above self. In the weeks and months ahead we need to ensure we do not neglect the incredible personal sacrifices witnessed throughout every community. We cannot take these sacrifices for granted and must ensure the mental health of our older people is protected.

We, as individuals, must continue to play our part and assist where possible. We must continue helping to ensure our older people have avenues to connection, be it through technology such as ipads and phone calls or through traditional communications such as letters or postcards. The Minister of State and her Department are facing an incredible situation of global significance where our incredible healthcare workers are working in extremely challenging circumstances. While they continue to do their work, we must look beyond the walls of our healthcare facilities to ensure the mental health of our older people is prioritised and measures must be put in place to address their concerns.

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