Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Deputy Gannon that it is unacceptable that the Minister has not stayed in the Chamber to listen to the statements. It would be remiss of me not to welcome some of the Government Deputies but they have gone again. Last week when we were in committee they did not stay in the Chamber for their slots and we missed ours. In the new year, it would be good if Government Deputies would stick around for the Thursday evening slots.

Throughout this pandemic I have raised on a number of occasions the fact that people who are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 have slipped through the net vis-à-vis the supports they need and what they actually get. Another case has come to my attention this week concerning a young man who has muscular dystrophy. He lives in the same house as his parents who provide care for him both day and night. This young man has his own quarters and lives as independently as possible but Covid has brought particular challenges to the house.

Stephen emailed me recently to say that he had applied for home care hours from the HSE. He was awarded one hour per week of home help and two hours per week from the local independent living centre. Stephen and his family were told by the HSE that they would get more home care hours but then that was rolled back on because of shortages of healthcare workers in the south east. Effectively, through broken promises he had hours that had never been given to him cut back. He worries for his parents and is fearful of what would happen if something were to happen to them. Those fears became a reality this week when his parents contracted Covid-19. He emailed me to tell me that he is now confined to his room to avoid contracting the virus. For his own safety, he and his parents are trying to cut down their interactions with each other, save for essential care like the use of his respiratory machines and so on. The situation is by no means ideal. Stephen is worried about his parents and they are concerned for him. When they asked the public health nurse about the possibility of further home help hours they were told that Covid would prevent home carers from coming in anyway. They have had no HSE care for two weeks. Stephen has his own quarters in the house which are accessed by a separate, outside door so anybody providing care to him would not need to go into the part of the house that his parents are in. They are now left in a situation where Stephen's ill parents are doing everything they can for him while also taking every possible measure to limit their contact with him. They have been left with no choice but he is worried for them. He is increasingly isolated and his parents are very stressed, ill and worried for him. They have no choice but to continue what they are doing.

Vulnerable people are slipping through the net because the health service is not meeting their needs. This was true before Covid but it is especially so since the virus has presented itself.

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