Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are apportioning our time by taking four, four and three minutes. The Minister, his Department and, importantly, the very many front-line HSE staff are doing a great job in grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, which it now appears we will be co-existing with for some time to come. Covid-19 has thrown a major curveball at this country. Ways of life have changed utterly, and possibly forever, and politically we are now dealing with very real and deep issues in our constituencies and communities.

I would like to bring public orthodontic and dental care to the Minister's attention. With up to 40% of HSE community dental staff currently redeployed to help with contact tracing and testing, there is a backlog of those waiting on public lists for essential treatments. Those who can afford private care to short-circuit that delay are doing so but at great personal cost. I ask the Minister to propose at Cabinet some form of enhanced tax rebate for parents who ordinarily would have brought their child to the public dentist or orthodontist but these days are paying for private treatment.

The next issue I wish to raise concerns Covid outbreaks in schools. It was great to see 1 million students return to school last month. The reopening-of-schools roadmap has been one of the major successes of this Government. The Irish Primary Principals’ Network has a major concern, however. When there is a suspected or confirmed case of Covid in a school, the principal seeks advice from the HSE as to what actions he or she should take. The HSE, at that moment, effectively takes over the management and communication of the event, and the principal defers functions to it. Ideally, the HSE would communicate rapidly and clearly but, in some cases of which I am aware, it has taken up to 24 hours for the communication to filter out from the HSE. In that 24-hour period, the principal is effectively gagged. There may be a member of staff with an acute underlying health problem or living at home with an elderly or high-risk parent but the principal is prevented from having a cautionary word with his or her colleagues. I ask the Minister to take this up with HSE. We cannot have principals stewing and stressing over having knowledge of a Covid case in their schools without having the sanction to inform their staff.

I welcome the fact that the Government's winter plan will inject unprecedented support into our health system this winter. This €600 million will definitely help to resource our health system better over the very tough months ahead. The funding, while welcome as a medium-term measure, does not fully address the challenges that we in Clare and the wider mid-west region face in terms of hospital care. Before Covid hit this country, University Hospital Limerick was consistently the worst off hospital in terms of trolley numbers. The much-needed fix here is very obvious; it lies in increased funding and supports for the other hospitals of the region, namely Ennis General Hospital and Nenagh and St. John's hospitals. I am glad the programme for Government commits to hiring more consultants but I would like to know the strategy that exists to send some of them west of the Shannon. That is certainly a concern we have in Clare.

I wish to address the issue of maternity hospitals. Generally speaking, being pregnant is a medical condition, not an illness. Most women attending for scans or antenatal appointments are in good health. On this basis, maternity hospitals need to be considered to be somewhat different from other hospitals. I hope public health guidance will change in the quickest time possible so more men can attend appointments with their partner or spouse. I was fortunate to be able to attend appointments with my wife when our three children were expected. Some leave the room full of jubilation and butterflies in the stomach but, for those who get bad news in the scanning room, it can be a devastating moment and people need considerable support. Either way, it is a landmark moment in someone's life and the expectant mother needs to be fully supported. I hope current arrangements can be revisited urgently.

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