Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome and congratulate the Minister of State. I am delighted that she was appointed to the role because her dedication and passion for her portfolio, when in opposition, was second to none. She is going to be a reforming Minister of State.

A very famous television show called "Game of Thrones" had the tagline "winter is coming". For us in this country it really is and it will be a winter like no other. For us, the coronavirus is our reality of the White Walkers and just as deadly. The winter programme will be critical in so many aspects of society in keeping our systems functioning and our citizens healthy so I am glad of the extra €600 million on top of our normal funding for this particular programme. The medical card for the over-70s was a huge and very significant announcement. With the coronavirus there is so much noise in our media and on the airwaves that hugely significant statements such as that by the Minister of State which are reforming and will make a huge difference may not be heard.

The initiative is about keeping people safe in their homes, which is a huge issue that the Minister of State is passionate about. I ask her to touch on home care support in her closing remarks. We are all very conscious that there was already a backlog in the system. Have the Minister of State and her Department analysed the anticipated surge that could arrive on top of the backlog? In terms of GPs, I would like to know what services are under pressure in all of the constituencies and I would like to hear statistics on waiting times as a result of Covid. I am very conscious that all of this plan, even things like community beds, are contingent on a large numbers of additional staff. It is a wholetime equivalent of 868 new staff in terms of staffing the community beds initiative. Is there a recruitment process in place to make sure that, come spring, the Department has time for that?

I have been inundated with representations about disability services because people are anxious that their loved ones get the full-time care they had prior to Covid. It is causing a major strain on families. I ask the Minister of State to address these matters and I now hand over to my colleague, Senator Byrne.