Results 4,421-4,440 of 18,851 for speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: An issue arises as a result of the Covid. I mentioned the case of a child with an exceptional disability. They have been assessed and the school, medical personnel and the family believe they need a full-time SNA. The appeal has been turned down by the Department with what is called an SNA exceptional review to take place. However, because of Covid it has not taken place. Neither the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: The Department is aware of it.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: My last question is on the impact of Covid on enrolment policies and numbers. One school in my constituency, Rampark national school, which lost ten pupils following the opening of a new national school in the area has lost two teachers as a result. St. Patrick's national school in Harestown has 197 pupils but needed to have 201 and all classes are now overcrowded as a result....

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: I accept that.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: I am sorry but could the Minister please repeat that last bit?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Review of the Reopening of Schools (Resumed) (2 Sep 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: The final point I will make to the Minister is that when one school lost ten students due to there being a new national school in the area, it lost two teachers and that is not fair or equitable. While the other school has lost one teacher, there is overcrowding in all the classes now. I can send the Minister and the Department the details of these schools but I am sure my colleagues have...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: Mr. Reid has a fine record of transparency and accountability since taking up his post and I welcome all the work he and his organisation have been doing. However, a serious issue has arisen in my constituency as a result of a significant number of deaths in Dealgan House Nursing Home. The difference between these 23 deaths and all the other deaths in nursing homes around the country is...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: They have got no information from the HSE in response to a freedom of information request. Mr. Reid said he is aware of some reasons the RCSI hospitals group went in there. I think Mr. Reid owes it to the families to make sure he contacts them following this meeting. I want him to meet with the families. I believe that he should meet with them and that Mr. Reid has to be accountable....

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: I do not deny that or disagree with Ms O'Connor. I agree that is what happened. The families, however, have not been told and have not been given the facts around that decision. Their freedom of information request has not given them the facts which the HSE obviously has. The families need to be given these facts because the HSE has to be accountable and they have to get closure. I will...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: What are the figures? I welcome the facts.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: My time is very short. I just did not hear the figures that Ms O'Beirne mentioned. I am not suggesting that she is keeping them from me, I just did not hear them because Ms O'Beirne's voice is just a little bit low for my ears. Could I please get those figures? The last part of my question concerns social stigma, which is a reason that some people are not showing up. Is the HSE going to...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: Cúig nóiméad. I welcome the witnesses and commend them on their commitment and dedication to the work. I assure them that the whole country is listening and learning from the way they present the facts. I wish to ask some questions about the number of people not turning up for testing. This morning, the HSE told us: We refer people for day 0 tests and day 7 tests....

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: There has been commentary from some doctors in the media about people who presented to them with symptoms but did not go for the test even though they were recommended to do so. What happens in such cases? How are they followed up? Is this group different from those who have been in close contact with a confirmed case? Are there two different figures for these cohorts?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: What analysis is carried out on the cohort who acquire the illness after a negative first result? I understood from earlier comments that the HSE was trying to identify these people. Does it correspond to a particular cohort? I have spoken to someone involved in contact tracing. This person is aware of a small number of people who do not turn up because their presence in the country...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: I am not sure where I am on the speaking list.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Chairman. I just wanted to check that.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome the Minister. I appreciate that he has a particularly good grasp of the questions, the answers to which I have been listening. I wish to concentrate on issues he will have heard me speak about before. Most of the people who have died or have been seriously ill as a result of the coronavirus are older people or people with suppressed or impacted immune systems. What additional...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome the Minister's comments. I hope that we have a full debate on them, perhaps next week or when we come back. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to introduce a statutory home care package as quickly as possible. What progress has been made on that? I have spoken to a number of people, either in nursing homes or who have family members in nursing homes. Many...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: That is it in a nutshell. My time is short. That is backwards healthcare. I want to work very closely with the Oireachtas and with Government to do something about that as quickly as possible.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: I will raise that with the Minister in the Dáil or by parliamentary question. I welcome his comments. Two issues that have upset me the most, most of my constituents and indeed most of the country. One concerns the man and his stepson ,both of whom lived in Kilbrew nursing home and both of whom died. We heard the appalling description of the maggots on the poor man's face and the...