Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Shocking figures from the HSE today show us that 27% of all deaths during Covid were of people in nursing homes. It is a shocking reminder of how we failed the most vulnerable cohort during the pandemic.

I, along with others in this House, sat on a special Dáil committee during the Covid pandemic, which made a priority recommendation that the State should conduct a full inquiry into the deaths of these people in nursing homes during that crisis. We are still waiting to hear news of that inquiry. That committee also examined other aspects of the State's failures when it came to caring for the elderly in nursing home settings. One startling figure that stood out was that 80% of nursing homes are privatised in this country and 20% are public. The position was the reverse only 15 years ago. The reality is that many private nursing home settings could not get qualified staff, could not retain staff and did not have medical resources to care for the people who got sick. When it came to the issue of oxygen tanks and personal protective equipment, PPE, they were totally inadequately resourced. We had a race to the bottom in respect of pay and conditions for those who worked in those nursing homes.

Will lessons be learned? Will that inquiry be held? Will the Government stop the failed policies of privatising healthcare, particularly healthcare for the elderly? We have seen since large healthcare centres, which are privately owned and operated being opened with grandeur, with the Taoiseach and others presiding over the opening, cutting the ribbon and so on. A commitment was given to move to more localised, community-based, smaller residential settings to prevent this tragedy in future.

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