Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

We are all acutely aware that there is great fear across the country of the months ahead, the growing number of Covid cases and the dangers many people are facing in the coming period. The conflicting advice, confused rules and regulations and lack of clarity about what needs to be done and what we are doing from the Government are feeding into that fear.

In this context, I would love to be able to say something positive about the announced winter plan. I am afraid I cannot because those at the front line of the health service, our nurses, doctors and consultants, have made it clear that this plan is not addressing the crisis. We could say it is a sticking plaster but in reality it is more akin to a policy of saying a prayer and hoping for the best. It is said that Covid-19 is ruthless in seeking out the most vulnerable, those with underlying conditions or with a fragility. That is one reason the fear in this country is so high. We have over 1 million citizens with underlying conditions and their families and loved ones are also in fear. This pandemic is also ruthless in exposing the weaknesses and underlying conditions in our economic, social and health systems. When this crisis started last March, the then Minister for Health acknowledged that a two-tier, dysfunctional health system was not fit for purpose in dealing with a pandemic. He gave us the impression that the Government was gone all socialist and was going to provide a one-tier system based on need and not on the ability to pay. It is now clear that no such policy was ever planned. Even as the virus ploughs ahead, we remain committed to a two-tier health system. The winter plan will see us repeat temporary purchasing at very high prices from the private sector with no vision of the permanent capacity increase that we need. Of the 1,500 new beds announced as part of the winter plan, which is to cover us from now until April, there seem to be only 528 actual new beds. Will the Minister of State confirm that or is it more PR spin that the Government thinks will fool the virus?

That lack of real vision of a plan to fundamentally change the system is another reason people have real fears. We must compare these details with what the front-line workers are saying. The Irish Hospital Consultants Association says we need an extra 2,000 inpatient beds at a minimum and has called for a doubling of ICU beds. We are getting an extra 17. The INMO has pointed out that many of the 300 beds opened under last year's winter initiative are now closed due to staff shortages. If we cannot keep beds open from last year because of staff shortages - one hospital in the east has 400 nursing vacancies - how in the hell can we be confident that we will staff this plan? In a pandemic crisis such as this we need emergency steps. We need to take over the private hospitals, end agency staffing and bring workers into the HSE in a permanent capacity on permanent contracts to end this two-tier system and to show everybody that we are indeed all in this together and that there is real social solidarity.

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