Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The pandemic has been hugely difficult for all residents of nursing homes, their relatives and staff. Suffering a bereavement is even harder when all the normal rituals have been disrupted. I acknowledge that Covid-19 has had a very challenging and sad impact on the lives of people living in nursing homes, their families and friends.

The Covid-19 nursing home expert panel established last year provided a comprehensive report and package of recommendations on both the ongoing response to Covid-19 and the longer term strategic reform of older persons' care. Many of the short and medium term recommendations of the Covid-19 nursing home expert panel report have already been implemented. A number of those relate to the delivery of a broad suite of supports provided to private nursing homes, including free PPE, serial testing, HSE Covid-19 response teams, infection prevention and control training and temporary accommodation for staff.

Continued learning and understanding of the progression of the disease in Ireland is an integral part of the expert panel's recommendations. There has been a significant and ongoing consideration of the impact of the pandemic, with various examinations and the compilation of reports with a focus on Covid-19, its affect on nursing homes and the learnings that can inform future policy regulation and the model of care for older persons. There has also been a very clear national commitment to continue to learn from the pandemic, as the national and international understanding of the virus evolves and, where necessary, to ensure that the public health-led approach evolves as evidence and learning materialises. The findings of these reports confirm that the very infectious nature of Covid-19 makes it difficult to prevent and control in residential care settings. We are continuing to look at options that may be available to the State in the context of listening to the voices of those who have lost loved ones.

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