Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing my time with my colleague, Senator Fiona O'Loughlin. I thank the Minister of State for her very comprehensive statement on the winter plan. It is so important this winter, more so than ever before. I am happy to see that acute beds have been more than doubled and that there is a significant increase in sub-acute beds as well.

Home support packages are the most important thing that stands out from this winter package. We all know people who have suffered greatly and lost home supports over the years. It is great to see them being introduced again and the supports being increased. That was a key component of the Fianna Fáil election manifesto and I am delighted to see that home packages are once again being prioritised.

I am also happy to see the support for GPs, who are the unsung heroes in this pandemic. They adapted their GP surgeries very quickly to deal with the new reality. We have all done phone and video consultations with them at this stage and they have been absolutely fantastic in dealing with an ever-increasing workload, given that they were already overstretched as it was. I pay particular tribute to the GPs of Ireland.

I am also glad to see the emphasis on vaccinations in this package. It is essential that everybody gets their vaccination, particularly those in a vulnerable group. I thank the Minister of State for making such funds available.

As the Minister of State is responsible for mental health and older people, I take this opportunity to address one specific matter with her, on which I hope we will be able to make some progress. I refer to the mental health and well-being of the women of Ireland who have given birth or been pregnant during the pandemic. They have gone to appointments and scans alone and often received some very bad news. They have miscarried on their own, been told there is no heartbeat alone and given birth alone. These matters are going to impact on the mental health and well-being of those women for evermore. If we are going to live alongside the virus for the next number of years, the Minister for Health needs to address this issue. I would like to hear the Minister of State's comments on that. I pay tribute to everybody working in the HSE and wish them the very best of luck for the winter.