Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this debate. As we are all acutely aware, 2020 has presented a monumental challenge for our health services. We have demanded huge sacrifices from our nurses, doctors, paramedics and all of the staff who keep our hospitals and all medical facilities running safely every day. This winter, unfortunately, promises to present even more challenges for our health infrastructure and front-line staff. It is imperative that we prepare in the right way to ensure we have the ability and capability to deal effectively with the obstacles that we will be faced with in the months ahead.

Members of this House will be acutely aware that Covid-19 will remain with us for some time. We will likely see spikes in infection and hospitalisations. We know also that during the pandemic other illnesses do not cease. People still require hospitalisation for a myriad of conditions and we must have adequate resources in place to manage these risks and prevent our health services being stretched insofar as we can. I am pleased that we have a commitment to a significant increase in spending, staff and beds. These will be much needed as our front-line staff endure what is no doubt going to be a difficult winter.

As we continue our fight against Covid-19 in the months ahead, testing will become an important feature for us to understand the direction in which the virus is heading. We must remain ambitious in this endeavour and put in place operational capacity to avoid the development of backlogs and other associated pitfalls. In the early stages of the pandemic there was a large reduction in the number of people attending emergency departments, as has been mentioned during this debate. There have also been reductions in the number of people presenting with other non-Covid related illnesses for fear of contracting the virus. We do not yet know the full extent of the ramifications this will have for the long-term health of the population. Successfully overcoming many conditions requires timely intervention. Providing confidence to the public will be an important feature of avoiding a repeat of this situation, along with the implementation of improved access to healthcare through technology, remote clinics and improved community care, which will be greatly appreciated in my constituency of Dublin Fingal and is included in the winter plan.

It is also vital that there is a significant take-up of the winter flu vaccine, as my colleague just mentioned. Historically, we struggled to have large take-up of the vaccine, even among healthcare professionals. This year, however, there is an obvious need for maximum engagement. The expansion of free access to the vaccine was a very positive step in this regard. As the vaccine is available now, we must encourage as many people as possible to get it, through information and communication campaigns across all media platforms. By doing so, we will avoid the potential for increased pressure on the health services as a result of a bad winter flu season.

I wish to refer to a comment made by Deputy Shortall in a previous debate on a previous day when she spoke about the need for political parties and none to engage collectively in promoting the message of engaging with the health services for ailments that might be worrying people. She referred to influencers and the like. There should be some unity of purpose in the House in terms of the political leadership that is shown to promote the uptake of a winter flu vaccine by collectively messaging the public. Perhaps it could be through a single video to show the unity of purpose of this House and the Seanad. It could also relate to the messaging on Covid-19. It is worthy of our consideration. Success in respect of the availability of the winter flu vaccine may also enhance our ability to encourage take-up of the Covid vaccine, should one be developed and approved for use in the near future. This afternoon, RTÉ published a poll showing that 32% of people expressed an unwillingness to take up the first vaccine for Covid when it becomes available and a further 12% were unsure if they would take up the vaccine.

The winter plan, correctly, focuses on protecting as many vulnerable people as possible. This is the challenge for all of us. We must come together as a nation to protect vulnerable people, their families and friends, our neighbours and even strangers we may never meet. We will survive the pandemic due to the individual sacrifices of people. The Irish people are ready and willing to protect these people again. It is our job to ensure we can provide a strong and capable health service that will have the ability to cater for the demands of this winter and, indeed, repay the sacrifice of front-line workers who are at the coalface each day.

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