Results 3,981-4,000 of 4,093 for speaker:Cormac Devlin

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Non-Covid Healthcare Disruption: Mental Health Services (14 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Good morning to the witnesses. I thank them for their attendance today. We have all received calls from people in distress and in need of mental health services. I note that approximately 90% of the mental health services are provided through GP care or primary care teams. The remainder are provided by the community mental health teams. What has been the volume of the increase since the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Non-Covid Healthcare Disruption: Mental Health Services (14 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I refer to the previous question on the WHO recommendation that 12% of health service budgets be spent on mental health services and in Ireland we spend in and around 7% as I heard said. Does Mr. Rogan have a percentage breakdown of the age and gender of those he has seen in the past 12 months or so or has there been an increase in any particular cohort seeking mental health services? Mr....

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Non-Covid Healthcare Disruption: Mental Health Services (14 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I thank everybody for those responses. We spoke about primary healthcare services. I would say they are patchy, to say the least, in certain parts of the country. My fear is for those who live in areas where they cannot avail of services and also in terms of the strain on GPs across the country. That could create barriers, unfortunately, for those who are trying to access services. That...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Non-Covid Healthcare Disruption: Mental Health Services (Resumed) (14 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their presentations today. It was interesting and I thank them for providing the report in advance. I represent Dún Laoghaire in the Dáil and one of the big issues I have had over the years has been the staffing resource for community healthcare organisation, CHO, area 6. It has been difficult to retain and recruit staff in various...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Non-Covid Healthcare Disruption: Mental Health Services (Resumed) (14 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I am conscious of the time but I thank Dr. Doody for that response. I appeal to the director and to the staff from the HSE in particular to keep that focus on south Dublin. I have been aware of the challenges for many years but I ask them to redouble the efforts to retain and recruit staff for the CHO and the wider field. In the earlier session, I raised the issue of dual diagnosis. A...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Non-Covid Healthcare Disruption: Mental Health Services (Resumed) (14 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: On a weekly basis, yes.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I welcome our guests and thank them for their attendance and remarks, particularly the Secretary General and his colleagues. I welcome the change in culture and message that if people are sick, they should stay away, and the remarks about the number one priority of the Department reopening the schools. It is a good place to start. I spoke with a number of the teacher representatives who...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I thank Mr. Ó Foghlú for that. Assuming everything goes to plan and schools are reopened in September, I note this morning there is talk of additional funding for both substitute teachers and the cleaning of schools. While Mr. Ó Foghlú touched on cleansing earlier in response to some of the questions, does he have a figure for the amount of additional money the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Once complete and issued to schools, will this roadmap help the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the roadmap needed for special schools and children or adults with disabilities? Will Mr. Ó Foghlú's Department work with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on that?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Very good. I have just two more questions for the Secretary General and then two for Mr. Loftus. I might as well ask them all together. The first concerns after-school activities. What is the likely guidance to schools on after-school or extracurricular activities based on school premises? The second question is more of a perennial issue, which is the weight of schoolbags. Perhaps...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Impact of Covid-19: Education – Return to School and School Transport (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Finally, if I may, where the schools have the space and where there is a possibility of facilitating those classrooms, I urge the Department to try to ensure that a fund is made available to those schools to employ additional teachers in order that those class sizes are reduced and, indeed, the space is given for socially-distanced education.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I thank Ms McGinley and Ms McKeown for their attendance today as well as for their contributions and opening statements which were enlightening and are much appreciated. This issue, as they are well aware, that came to public prominence at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In my own constituency of Dún Laoghaire we do not have meat processing plants. It does not directly affect...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I commend the work that Migrant Rights Centre Ireland is doing because without it, many of these people would be voiceless and would feel vulnerable. It is important that Ms McGinley is able to voice their concerns. I have not visited a meat packing or processing plant but I would hope the yellow signage with which we are all now familiar, such as is right here beside me and everywhere one...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: It was remiss of me not to thank all of those working in the meat plants because it was one of the sectors, as the witnesses highlighted in their remarks, that kept going throughout the height of the pandemic. This should be acknowledged. Whatever scheme the employer or the State looks at it is certainly warranted to acknowledge appreciation. Ms McGinley said that not all factories and...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Of course not.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Absolutely. We now see that the R-nought is close to 1. That is alarming in itself, but if there were a second wave - I am reading a statement for our next session - do the witnesses think things would improve, or have they improved already? Surely the figures for the past couple of weeks indicate that all factories seem to have got on board and realised that this has to be dealt with. In...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Equally, from Ms McGinley's own experience, from what she has been told and from what her organisation has learned about those who reported symptoms of illness, regardless of whether it was thought to be Covid, and those who actually reported sick, can she enlighten us on her experience with workers who have come to her organisation with those experiences?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I am asking about people who have reported sick or as having felt symptoms. What was their experience with the willingness of their employers to allow a day off or testing of the employee? What measures were taken to prevent a potential spread? This is the advice to which we are all adhering now.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: Finally, did the witnesses see a spike in the number of cases they were dealing with in their regular work at the outset compared with the height of the pandemic? Has this given them a massive surge in case numbers? I am assuming it has but I would just like confirmation of that. How many are we talking about? How many cases has the MRCI dealt with from March to date?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Congregated Settings: Meat Plants (Resumed) (10 Jul 2020)

Cormac Devlin: I thank Mr. Carroll and the other representatives from MII for attending today. I am aware the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, was responsible, before her appointment and as a member of this committee, for inviting MII in today. They are very welcome and I thank them for their opening remarks. Following on from the earlier session, I will ask about the levels of meat produced in the...