Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is very hard to understand what this motion is about. There are lots of words in it and it comprises two and a half pages. It makes 24 different statements about different aspects of the impact of Covid on the country. Many of those statements are valid enough. The motion calls on the Government to do 12 different things. To use the word "omnibus" understates the motion. Everything seems to have been thrown into it, including the kitchen sink.

It is a poor use of time. The 24 statements in the motion are divided between issues in respect of mental health, the vast majority of which are absolutely valid. We had a very good debate here last week on this, which was a very good use of Private Member's time by the Regional Group. We discussed the significant impact of Covid on the country's mental health and well-being, the fact that our services have been underfunded and that we need additional funding.

What strikes me about this motion is that it has plucked a figure of €250 million out of the air for mental health services. I have no idea where that figure has come from. Last week we discussed the shortfalls in funding for mental health which have been clearly identified by people working in the area and in funding which was promised by Government. There is no reference to that in the motion, which brings into question the credibility of some of the claims that are being made.

There are also a number of statements being made about the impact of Covid on our health service. There is no doubt that there has been a significant impact on our health service from Covid. Many procedures, operations and elements of the health service have, unfortunately, been put on hold. There are major problems, and we are storing up problems for the future with those delays. Last week we discussed this issue very carefully in the Joint Committee on Health. Witnesses from the cancer programme came before us and explained very clearly what the approach now is. To suggest that there can be an urgent programme to clear all of the waiting lists for screening is not realistic. None of this is based on evidence.

Part and parcel of the health statements in the motion concern the need to fund Sláintecare properly. That is absolutely true and I would like to hear more from the Rural Independent Group about having a proper public health service and funding and implementing the Sláintecare programme fully, but I am not sure that many of its members have been vocal on the need for a proper public health service. They have taken different approaches. Again, there is a lack of consistency in that regard.

The third element in the motion is the whole question of rural Ireland. I completely agree with the point made by Deputy Duncan Smith that this is a false dichotomy. Those of us who represent Dublin constituencies and other urban constituencies are pretty fed up with this carry on and putting on the poor mouth.

We have serious problems with poverty and a lack of investment in infrastructural projects, mental health problems and problems with local businesses in urban Ireland also. It would be much better if we worked together to address the whole issue of disadvantage and exclusion throughout the country, whether those people who are excluded and disadvantaged are living in urban or rural Ireland. I have often thought I would love to have the time or somebody to do a piece of work to identify where the funding is going. I have no doubt the arguments about rural Ireland always losing out would not stand up to any scrutiny if we were to examine closely where various pots of funding go. There have been various Ministers who have seen it as their purpose in life to allocate funding to rural Ireland solely and not take into consideration disadvantage in urban areas. This is a false argument. It really takes us nowhere to keep banging that drum.

I want to devote time to developments overnight on the shocking situation in Northern Ireland. Last night, at one hospital in Northern Ireland 43 patients were waiting in the emergency department for beds and outside that hospital 17 ambulances were lined up with patients in them and doctors had to come out and treat them in ambulances. It is a shocking indictment of the political system in Northern Ireland that this situation has been allowed to develop. In the context of all that evidence on the soaring levels of Covid and the increasing number of people having to be hospitalised and admitted to ICU that a decision was taken at political level that the area be opened up, that businesses be opened up and that pubs and restaurants operate is a shocking indictment. There are big questions about the lack of leadership from the health Minister and members of the Assembly. They have let down their people very badly in their failure to address this and there are many lessons that could have been learned from the Republic in this regard.

It is very clear that what happens in Northern Ireland impacts significantly on the Republic of Ireland and particularly those counties around the Border. One of the elements I want to express concern about again is the failure to introduce any control on travel by people in Northern Ireland through Dublin Airport. Yesterday, in reply to a parliamentary question, I received the figures with regard to people coming through Dublin Airport. They are hugely down, with a 90% reduction on what we would expect at this time of the year, but relatively significant numbers are coming in from Portugal and Spain. The follow-up has been weak enough and, unfortunately, this has been the case from the beginning. There was not a strategy to eliminate Covid and lessons were not learned from countries that have been successful in doing this with regard to travel. The reality is we continue to allow the Dublin dodge to go on where there is no follow-up whatsoever on Northern residents who are going in and out of Dublin Airport. This is a real difficulty. It causes a huge threat to public health safety in Northern Ireland and in the Republic. It has been a huge failure of the Government and something that desperately needs to be addressed. We are facing into the Christmas and new year period, and there will be a lot of travel back and forth from the North to Dublin and elsewhere over the Christmas period. There will also be a huge amount in the new year period when so many people go off to the sun or go off skiing. We need to address this loophole that exists in the Dublin dodge. I strongly appeal to the Government to take action before it is too late.

See this speech in context