Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise with the Taoiseach a very important issue in respect of which clarification is needed. Last week, my local radio station, LMFM, made a number of claims in respect of the HSE temporary accommodation programme. It claimed that the HSE is using a local hotel under the scheme to accommodate healthcare workers who are Covid positive and those who are not Covid positive. It has also claimed that a healthcare worker who contracted the Covid virus while at work was told to stay at the hotel to isolate as they live with people who are considered to be vulnerable.

I contacted the HSE but we need full transparency and clarification on this matter. The HSE, in its reply, stated: "Under no circumstances are Covid-19 positive healthcare workers accommodated in hotels by the HSE." The HSE also confirmed that the temporary accommodation scheme is available to: healthcare workers who are living in shared accommodation with other health service workers; those who work in potentially Covid-positive environments; and individuals who may have people who are in high-risk categories and who are vulnerable to infection in their home settings and who, therefore, cannot return to those settings between shifts. The scheme is also available to healthcare workers who live with people who have been instructed to self-quarantine or who are required to work longer than usual shifts or overtime and who will not have time to return home between shifts.

It has also been confirmed by the HSE that there are procedures in place for those workers who contract coronavirus and who are housed under the temporary programme. In these circumstances, a healthcare worker must inform his or her line manager of the situation. The latter can, in turn, inform the hotel and the worker must vacate the hotel at the earliest convenience. The HSE has also confirmed that healthcare workers who test positive for the virus and who are accommodated under the programme will be transferred to the Citywest self-isolation facility by medical doctors.

As the Taoiseach can see, the claims made by LMFM are totally at odds with the HSE's stated position. in order to get to the bottom of this, we need a detailed statement from the HSE confirming that the claims made by LMFM are either incorrect or that there has been a breakdown in systems in this instance. This has the potential to be a very serious situation and clarification is needed as a matter of urgency. We cannot have a situation where Covid-positive healthcare workers are sharing accommodation with other non-Covid-positive healthcare workers.

I have also been contacted by a healthcare worker who contracted the virus at work. She lives at home with her elderly parents, who are deemed to be in the "vulnerable" category. In this case, the healthcare worker was not offered the opportunity to self-isolate at the Citywest facility. This is also at odds with the statement from the HSE. I ask for the Taoiseach's assistance in this matter in order to get clarification from the HSE.

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