David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The task ahead for the Government, indeed for all Members of this House, must be to break the cycle of lockdowns. This can be achieved by exiting restrictions safely this year, with the protections in place to avoid future lockdowns in the new year. That means getting the basics right and requires testing and tracing with a dedicated workforce; mass testing; a proper system of travel restrictions with robust airport testing; adequately-funded public health departments; and, vitally, all-island co-operation. All plans must be guided by public health advice. This is the only way to keep people safe and this can only be achieved if we keep the case numbers low.

Understandably, people will want to travel home for Christmas. It is clear that not everybody will travel home this year. However, we need fair and proportionate approaches for those travelling home on compassionate grounds. This means stepping up testing at airports and clear communication on public health advice for those who do travel. We must ensure common-sense and effective travel restrictions North and South and cross-Border co-operation. Our island should be a single unit for dealing with this virus, yet that is not being reflected in the Government’s approach so far. Contact tracing across the Border, which is far from the most difficult task, does not seem to be happening. There is a memorandum of understanding in place which we supported and which is helpful, but I have been asking the HSE for months how this is being implemented in practice and I have yet to receive an adequate response.

Income supports for workers, families and businesses are vital in the year and time ahead. Many workers, families and businesses have made huge sacrifices. We all accept that. There are some businesses which have been closed since March. There have been many workers who have been out of work. Many people have seen their incomes decimated. Even with the pandemic unemployment payment, they are down huge amounts of money and struggling to pay bills. It will be a very difficult and challenging Christmas for all of those individuals. Many have lost everything and the Government support has been inadequate. We pointed that out several times during the summer months when the Tánaiste and the Government he led were busy cutting payments like the pandemic unemployment payment when it should have been investing in testing and tracing. Under pressure, the Government reversed some of those cuts. My colleague, Deputy Louise O’Reilly, will address some of these important issues later.

This week has been emblematic of this Government's approach to managing Covid-19 and many different issues. A decision on what will happen next was essentially announced on Monday by the Taoiseach and reinforced today by the Tánaiste. We are now debating that fundamental decision. Tomorrow, we were supposed to engage with NPHET at the Joint Committee on Health on its advice to Government. I am assuming NPHET has not given that advice yet but will give it in the next number of days. That meeting was cancelled because, again, NPHET was not in a position to appear before the health committee. On Thursday, we were to hear what that advice was. A normal process would have the advice come first, then committee engagement, followed by a debate before a decision is reached. It is fair to say that, thanks to the sacrifice of the Irish people, cases have been somewhat brought under control. We all celebrate the fact the numbers have come down, albeit not as fast as we might like. They are not exactly where we want them to be but they have come down. Despite Government spin to the contrary - I address this point to the Tánaiste as well - NPHET has called this right every time it has called it. I am not convinced this Government has a handle on things. Of course NPHET gives advice and of course the Government has to make wider societal and economic decisions, but making decisions in advance of getting the advice from NPHET seems to be problematic.

There are still more than 800 workers redeployed to tracing when the Government has had six months to ensure a dedicated workforce was in place. This is causing complications across our health service. I commend each and every one of our front-line healthcare workers who have done Trojan work in recent months. The decision by the Government to redeploy staff to testing and tracing from other areas is having consequences. It is delaying rehabilitation for stroke victims.

It is delaying care for children with scoliosis. It is causing waiting lists for access to disability services to skyrocket. The Government has committed to hiring 10,000 additional healthcare staff next year, or so it says, yet 1,500 people who have been in Be on Call for Ireland pool and available to work have not been offered any contract for seven months or more. Where in God's name is the logic in this when at budget time we had the Minister for Health speaking about recruiting 15,000 staff? All of these staff are still in a pool waiting to be hired. These are people who came home from all corners of the world. The Taoiseach is shaking his head but these are the figures and that is the reality.

The unfairness at the heart of the Government's attitude to healthcare workers does not bode well for that relationship. Our healthcare workers have been through a very tough year, in fact the toughest yet. They worked hard and tirelessly through a difficult winter last year, and then through the spring, summer and autumn of this year, without rest as they tackled Covid, and now another difficult winter looms. We are in their debt. Whatever decisions we take, and whatever decisions the Government takes, they cannot add more pressure to our public health services in January, February and March of next year. We cannot allow the chaos in our hospitals that we have seen previously to become even worse next year. The Taoiseach shakes his head in bemusement-----

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