James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The HSE winter plan will see an additional €600 million invested in the health service. I want to recognise that our healthcare workers have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic and that investment will support them as they care for their patients, both those who have Covid-19 and those who have other healthcare requirements.

I welcome the Home First approach that emphasises reablement in providing extensive home care support packages for those with more complex needs, including people with dementia who are being supported through additional resources that have been allocated towards that area.

The roll-out of community specialist teams to support older people and those with chronic illnesses is also hugely positive. Those teams will help them to stay at home or, if they need hospital care, to get them home more quickly afterwards.

Under the current programme for Government, the commitment towards primary care facilities and recognising that hospitals are often not the best place for people to be in on a long-term basis is a positive move. My home town of Youghal, for example, does not have a primary healthcare centre and such developments in communities such as Youghal would be very welcome in the future. I look forward to working with the Minister to try to deliver that for the people of my constituency.

I would also like to raise a point about funding for communication strategies to communicate the message about Covid-19 to young people. I do so as the youngest Member of this House. Dr. Mike Ryan of the World Health Organization said that there was an ongoing shift in Covid-19 to younger adults. The shift in the disease being detected in our younger population is probably because they are the ones who came back into society at an earlier stage as they were returning to work, college and university. Younger people may suffer a less severe version, in some cases, of the Covid-19 disease but it is not guaranteed that this will always be the case. There is always a risk of passing it on to older populations and more vulnerable members of society. Transmission from younger to older generations can occur, especially if younger people are asymptomatic. If the disease is passed on to older generations again, Dr. Ryan said the hospitals will refill, which is something we do not want to see happen.

I want to highlight the need to target the messaging specifically to young people when it comes to Covid-19. As a young person, I understand that young people do not consume information in the same way as older generations of our society. We need to adapt our approach to ensure every section of our society is aware of the ramifications of the Covid-19 disease, not only for themselves but also for others in the community. I do not want this to come across as young people needing to be specifically singled out and communicated to or, worse, to be lectured but I am conscious that the media consumption patterns have changed so dramatically between generations that this issue cannot be left unaddressed.

I commend the Minister on his hard work, which he has shown since he came into his Department. As he is aware, I have highlighted my concerns around some of the mental health constraints that Covid-19 is placing on our citizens and young people across this country. The lives of many young people have been turned upside down because of this pandemic. They now face very few job prospects in many cases and a very uncertain future, which can greatly impact on an individual's mental health. The general direction of the winter plan is to ensure that we continue to keep the level of deaths from Covid-19 low and that other illnesses are treated also, but in a time of great change for so many across the world it is important that we do not forget to look after our mental health. I refer to measures such as reducing our social contacts. For many young people, not being able to attend university can be draining. I want to say here today that young people are not forgotten in this fight against Covid-19 and that the Minister's Department is looking to ensure that any person who is suffering throughout this pandemic, or at any time, can get the support they need.

Young people need hope that we can get through this pandemic without our health service being overrun, hope that everyone is doing their best to ensure we have a healthcare system in place that will overcome this pandemic, and hope that the future will be better and that we will get through this together.

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