Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating this debate because I have asked for it at meetings of the Business Committee for the past 18 months. I remind Deputy Tóibín that while the Rural Independent Group might not be a political party, it has been fighting on this issue for a long time. I have fought at every meeting of the Business Committee, and thanks to this we are here today.

According to data from the General Register Office and rip.ie, Ireland has experienced a significant rise in excess deaths since 2021. In 2021, there was an increase of 14.8%, translating to 4,600 excess deaths. In 2022, there was a spike of 18.4%, amounting to 5,700 excess deaths. This is so sad because one death is one too many. Up to September 2023, there was a rise of 19.4%, amounting to 4,500 excess deaths. In total, there have been 15,000 excess deaths since 2021, which is alarming. A preliminary analysis shows that the excess death increase in Ireland for August 2023 was around 21.1%. Therefore, there is something wrong.

The Minister for Health did not even bother to come in to the House, which is disappointing. This statement is not directed in any way at the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon. I have raised this issue so many times but have got no answers from the Minister. He would go to the Chief Medical Officer and come back with nothing, just ignoring it. He cannot hide his head in the sand and send in the junior Minister responsible for agriculture to deal with this. It is an insult. I am aware that the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, was in earlier.

The mortality rate for September is 19% above normal. This is shocking. Eurostat figures indicate Ireland’s mortality rates were above the EU average in each of the 12 months between July 2022 and July 2023 bar one month, July 2022, when our rate was 16.4%. Since January 2023, Ireland has been exceeding the EU average every month, at an ever-increasing cost.

We are aware of the bedlam in the health service and see what is happening in the accident and emergency departments. We see cutbacks all over the place and new embargoes affecting the recruitment of home helps. Do our people not matter to the Government anymore? We want an international, independent inquiry into the deaths alongside an international, independent inquiry into the way Covid was handled. My group and I are saying strongly that we want an independent inquiry, not one carried out by the usual suspects, such as retired eminent justices. I am referring to somebody from outside the country who would be fair, objective and discreet.

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