Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The scale of community spirit or meitheal was evident throughout the recent storm and is still much in evidence. To the Garda, ambulance service, fire service, Defence Forces and other front-line staff rightly received much praise but an entire army of other people, who I would describe as good neighbours and great citizens, also deserves praise. Many people were left on their own, cut off entirely from the family and friends who normally visit but were unable to do so. After four or five days, the solitude and sense of confinement and isolation will have been overwhelming. Let us imagine how those who experience this every day, with no end in sight, must feel. Last year, as part of a campaign to highlight the impact of loneliness a young man, Joseph Lindoe, spent a week alone at home in the United Kingdom to find out what it was like for the thousands of people who go this long without speaking to anyone. Mr. Lindoe did not have access to the Internet or a telephone and did not have any means of communicating with other people. He documented this time on video and in his own words he felt "truly trapped". Mr. Lindoe was able to count down his days until freedom but for many people who are lonely or isolated, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I will post his harrowing video on social media later and I urge all Senators to take a moment to watch it.

I echo the sentiments expressed by Mr. Seán Moynihan, chief executive officer of the Alone charity, with whom I worked on the loneliness task force. Mr. Moynihan has asked all of us to maintain the community spirit evident in the past week. We all have a better understanding now of what it is like for some people all year around who cannot get out, do not have company and lack some of the supports and services they need.

On behalf of my party, I welcome the St. Brigid's home school liaison team and members of other teams from the Coombe area who are visiting the Seanad today.