Dáil debates

Wednesday, 10 February 2021

Covid-19: Motion [Private Members]

 

12:10 pm

Photo of Frank FeighanFrank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Labour Party and all contributors to this debate on the motion on Ireland's response to Covid-19. The Government has taken strong and decisive action in its response to Covid-19. The overall strategy is based on the Government's resilience and recovery plan, which was published last September. The plan provides us with a framework to enable society and businesses to operate as much as possible while continuing to suppress the virus. It is designed to help individuals, organisations and sectors to better understand, anticipate and prepare for the measures that might be introduced to suppress the virus. Inherent in the plan is a prioritisation of activities and a balancing between the intertwined elements of our society and economy. Given the evolving nature of the pandemic, a certain amount of flexibility has been built into the plan to allow for new and targeted approaches. This allows the Government to take account of the disease's profile and trajectory at given points in time and to make decisions accordingly. That is precisely what the Government has done.

As we have already heard, Ireland has experienced a third wave of the disease, as has much of Europe. Consequently, the Government took decisive action with the introduction of regulations that were in line with level 5 of the framework under the plan. The current measures will remain in place until 5 March. They are having the desired effect, with Ireland having the fastest-declining 14-day incidence rate in Europe. However, we still need to work harder to achieve a reduction in case numbers. That reduction is possible.

Our ultimate aim is to reduce the level of infection in the population, save lives, protect the health services and other essential services. In doing so, we will be guided by NPHET and its public health advice, taking into account the international evidence and guidance as it emerges from the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Covid-19 is still a relatively new disease and research is ongoing to better understand the virus and how we can interrupt transmission. We will continue to tailor our efforts based on the latest available evidence.

As the House knows, the Government has put in place an extensive range of supports for society and the economy. These measures are designed to mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19. They include the pandemic unemployment payment and supports for businesses. Particular sectors of the economy that have been hard hit have been supported, for example, tourism. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of measures that have been put in place to support viable firms and encourage employment, including the EWSS.

We have also put in place measures to protect the elderly and vulnerable groups and those experiencing loneliness and social isolation by increasing funding for mental health services, extra counselling supports, home help supports and the expert panel on long-term residential care. Additional supports are in place across the community sector and the Government has encouraged close collaboration between the statutory and voluntary sectors at local level to ensure that resources and supports are targeted at those most in need.

Last year was incredibly challenging for us all. I acknowledge and express my sympathies to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives to Covid-19. We need to remember this sobering fact and to redouble our efforts to control the virus in 2021.

All Deputies will join me in paying tribute to those healthcare workers and other front-line workers who have worked tirelessly since the beginning of the pandemic. Our healthcare workers have played a vital role in combating the disease and caring for those who required healthcare as a result of it.

We are making progress in tackling the disease and, through domestic measures that require individuals to stay at home except for essential reasons, reducing the opportunity for the virus to be transmitted. The current regulations will remain in place until 5 March and we are investing in and building up capacity right across our health and social care services, including those that are specific to Covid-19 responses. We are also working closely with our European partners on our approach to the spread of this global disease.

Our efforts have been bolstered by the new tool in our kit to tackle this disease, namely, the Covid-19 vaccination programme. It is delivering vaccines to the people of Ireland. Up to 5 February, more than 230,000 Covid-19 vaccines had been administered, including to approximately 80,000 people who are now fully vaccinated.

The first delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived at the weekend and we started to include it as part of our vaccination programme this week, with front-line healthcare workers receiving their first vaccine. Phase 3 of our vaccination programme will start on Monday next, with GPs inviting those over the age of 85 to come forward for vaccination. Our objective is for nobody to be left behind, and our GP community is the most effective means of delivering the vaccine to this cohort. Vaccination centres have been identified for some GPs to come together and thereby ensure that the vaccine can be delivered speedily and safely. Deliveries of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the current preferred vaccines for those aged over 70, continues. Ireland is expected to receive a total of 1.1 million vaccine doses by the end of March.

We have achieved reductions in infection rates this year as a result of decisive and proactive action by the Government following advice from NPHET. This is also as a direct result of the efforts of the population in staying home, limiting contacts and following public health advice. However, it is vital that we keep this up. The Government recognises the public support for public health restrictions. Solidarity among communities and citizens is the most important factor in driving down this disease.

I thank each and every one of the contributors to the debate. I thank the Labour Party for tabling the motion. Listening to Deputies Nash and Ó Ríordáin, there were two aspects to their contributions. Deputy Nash stated that people need hope and a sense of vision that 2021 will be better than 2020. I certainly hope we can work on that. Deputy Ó Ríordáin said he hoped we will succeed. We will succeed together.

People referred to east-west and North-South issues, travel quarantine and emerging variants. It is very worrying that we have these new variants and mutations between the UK, Brazilian and South African variants. We must work together to try to suppress these variants. There should be a role for pharmacists, dentists and many other healthcare workers in helping to deliver the vaccine to the people who need it.

Deputy Howlin outlined the impact the pandemic is having throughout society and stated that women have been more impacted upon. This is something of which we are very aware. I thank all of the NGOs and the Garda Síochána for being aware of this very difficult situation. There are people across the island who are affected more than others by the virus and we hope that vaccines will be delivered as quickly as possible. They will be delivered as soon as we get them.

I thank all of the Members for their contributions. I refer them to the Government strategy to address Covid-19, which is extensive and comprehensive and which has been implemented through a range of public health restrictions and investment in public health capacity in line with the national framework for living with Covid-19.

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