Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I pay tribute to all of the health workers for the work they have done over the past nine months, and to the teachers, caretakers, pupils and school secretaries in the education sector.

It is highly likely that this winter we will see the annual trolley crisis come to the fore. Unfortunately, it is also possible we will have the effect of a third wave of Covid. We must do everything we can over Christmas to ensure we do not allow the spread of the virus to increase. With that in mind, what plans does the Minister’s Department have in place to deal with the annual surge in admissions to hospitals which puts pressure on accident and emergency departments?

Capacity needs to be increased. I highlight the case of the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise and Tullamore. Last winter, both hospitals operated at 100% capacity for much of the time, whereas the recommended maximum operational capacity is 85%. What work is being done to increase the capacity in our public hospitals? Will progress made in this area be long-term and additional? We recognise now that we need to expand capacity in our health services. This should not be seen as a temporary issue. We need long-term solutions.

On intensive care unit, ICU, capacity, prior to the pandemic Ireland had only six intensive care beds per 100,000 of our population. That is only half the European average. We are a long way behind. Tullamore hospital has four permanent ICU beds and Portlaoise hospital has two such beds. That is six beds for a population in excess of 160,000 people. I am raising this issue in a genuine way because we are skating on thin ice with ICU capacity. Temporary capacity can be put in and the hospital has done that when it has become overwhelmingly busy. These are matters in our health service which must be addressed regardless of whether we face a pandemic.

I welcome the Government’s announcement this week that the pandemic unemployment payment will be extended until the end of March. Workers and businesses in every constituency, including Laois-Offaly, require this certainty to allow them to plan for the future. This announcement is welcome news and provides some peace of mind for the next few months.

On the issue of rates, there was a guarantee given that the rates break would continue to the end of December. Unfortunately, businesses are coming out of this year in bad shape. Due to the ongoing nature of the pandemic, we need to see this break in rates extended to at least June of next year. I appeal to the Government to clarify that point tonight.

Child psychology services have been more or less suspended, as have child speech and language services and child occupational therapy. Parents of autistic children contact me day and night on this issue, as I am sure they contact every other Deputy in the House. We need to get those services back up and running. I appeal to the Minister to use his influence to address this issue.

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