Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

Every time I see or hear the word "Sláintecare" coming from the HSE, the Department of Health or Ministers I become extremely angry because I know, the Minister of State knows and everybody in here knows the Sláintecare report, as a planned approach to achieve a single tier well funded public health service, has been consigned to the shelves to gather dust in the Department of Health. Sláintecare as intended will never be implemented by any Government containing Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael so let us dispense with the pretence.

It would not have taken any great medical expertise to know our public health care system would be overrun by a pandemic of the nature of Covid-19. The lockdown and public compliance with it prevented a catastrophe and we have to recognise that in essence our healthcare system was overrun with the cancellation of many essential services in diagnostics, screening and elective surgery.

All Deputies have received a particular email and I will read from it because it is important with regard to disability services. It is from parents of adults with intellectual disabilities who, since the onset of Covid-19, have struggled with a lack of useful help for them and their adult children. The adult children's day and respite services were drastically cut to the point of being non-existent for most of the time up to September. They had hoped the promised winter plan would start to address some of the issues but instead they find their adult children and themselves once more ignored and neglected. They are bitterly disappointed and join Family Carers Ireland and Inclusion Ireland in expressing their dismay. They state that once again the authorities have let them down and let down the entire disability community. This email is one example and we could all give further quotes from a range of organisations, such as the Irish Cancer Society, urging emergency action. The glaring omission of serious funding for mental health services is hugely disappointing and, as has been said already, I hope it will be addressed seriously in the budget.

Having said that, the measures taken were necessary given the underfunding of the health service over decades. It is also necessary to record the tremendous work carried out under very difficult circumstances by those who work in the public health services, including doctors, nurses, porters, cleaners and all ancillary staff. In this context, a plan that calls for an injection of €600 million over the next six months is to be welcomed, as are the proposals for 570 new beds, 12,500 extra staff, the extension of community assessment hubs and more home help hours. Unfortunately, the €4.76 million for home help will not deal with the issue because many people did not have their home help needs met prior to Covid and they are looking for more hours. There is a huge backlog of people waiting for home help hours. People who were independent prior to Covid now face the need for home help hours. It is a question of having 6,000 new staff to deal with this.

One can only imagine how much better the service would be if the Sláintecare proposals for €600 million a year over five years had actually been implemented over the past three years. It would have made a huge difference.

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