Richard Boyd Barrett warns of second COVID wave, calls for nurses

Thanks, Taoiseach, I want to challenge your assertion that you're on top of dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. I think your government has already lost its way in dealing with COVID-19 and if things don't change we are facing a very very serious situation and the likelihood of a second wave and will not be in a position to prevent that becoming a very significant problem if not a disaster as well as the obvious need to simply state that non-essential travel into this country will not be allowed and the people will be checked on the way in. The other key area, the front line, which we seem to completely have forgotten about is the capacity of our health service to deal with a second surge and possibly with influenza outbreaks which are likely to increase in the autumn. Taoiseach, Taoiseach, Taoiseach, Taoiseach Million. I don't know if you heard the pretty alarming frightening, frightening testimony of Sinead Murphy, a young nurse at the COVID committee this morning. A young nurse, no underlying health conditions, working in a COVID ward, who was infected with COVID as were 12 out of 19 of the nurses on her ward, a number of them hospitalised very, very severe symptoms. She described her psychological trauma as a result of having to work in the conditions she was working in and the impact of COVID on her. And she was absolutely clear, as was Phil Nihae from the INMO, that chronic understaffing, a lack of capacity in our health system was at the root of us having one of the highest infection, sorry, the highest infection rate among healthcare workers of those infected anywhere in the world. The global proportion of healthcare workers infected out of all of those infected is 10%. Here it is 34%. In the last two weeks, it is 46%. Nearly half of the infections that have happened in the last two weeks are happening among healthcare workers. And this is even with PPE, because they're working 12-hour shifts, they're not getting breaks, they're fatigued, they're frightened, they're traumatised by the situation, and critically, they're chronically understaffed. We have 1,000 less nurses in the health system than we had in 2007. We need 5,000 additional nurses to drive up the capacity of our system. We are desperately, desperately under resourced and under capacity to deal with a possible second wave. And yet, all we hear about this week is guarantees for banks, big economic stimulus. It seems as if you've forgotten about the health pandemic, and all you're concerned about now is business. So, Taoiseach, will you heed the call of the healthcare workers to immediately embark on an ambitious campaign of recruitment to drive up the capacity of our health service, to double the ICU capacity, to make COVID infection in our hospitals a notifiable issue so that the HSA can be called in to assess the health and safety conditions that our health workers are in. And will you support our health workers, not just with words, but actually resource them and prepare for what is coming if we face, as we very likely will, a second wave of this infection in the autumn. First of all, I would not agree with the deputy in terms of his initial remarks, in terms of the overall strategy in relation to COVID-19. As I said earlier, societies all over the world, as they reopen, are experiencing huge issues with the virus. And very significant clusters have emerged in many locations in Europe and elsewhere. And we're very anxious to avoid that, obviously. And we're working with the CMO and with NEFET. And non-essential travel has been the advice from the very beginning. You said that has been the advice from the very beginning. And you spoke about tests should be carried out at airports. Actually, NEFET don't agree. They don't agree. What do you mean by checks? Checks. Actually check that it's essential. No, but look, sorry. NEFET and those are very wary of doing randomised testing, for example, or doing testing. I'll just give you, everyone has spoke about the importance of NEFET advice and so on. They believe there are many complications around it and could create issues for the contact tracing and isolation system within the country. Just to be straight up with you. So it's very easy to come in and sort of say, we should do this, do that. We've examined them. We continue to examine these issues. And I think it is important to again say that, and I, by the way, in terms of the health capacity, that is where the focus now is, particularly with the winter flu coming our way. Huge work has been done now within the health service executive in terms of working on the capacity issues, both in terms of staff, in terms of physical capacity, ICU, and acute hospital system, the flu vaccination programme. And I went to see the HSE last Friday week with that expressed purpose in mind, to speak with them in relation to the prioritisation of the winter initiative right now, so that we are in a position to have the capacity to deal with whatever comes our way in the autumn, particularly within our hospital setting. But I think it has to be also acknowledged. And I think the frontline healthcare workers were key to keeping the virus and then dealing with the virus. And you spoke about Sinead Murphy. I didn't hear her testimony, but just heard a small bit on the news on the way in. This is a terrible virus. It's a dangerous virus. And it's a deadly virus. And we have to do everything we possibly can to prevent people from getting it. And we can't understate its impact on the individual's health. Certainly, you know, people can have it for a long time, it can debilitate, it can create issues for your long term health. And that is why, you know, in terms of our own behaviour needs to continue to involve us in terms of social distancing, adequate, that those are the essentials that will keep this virus down. And also the whole area of congregated people congregating indoors, large numbers, that's been a very significant factor in the increase in numbers over the last two weeks. And I think that those are very important issues that we need to address and keep working with all of us to make sure that we can keep down the the rise of the spread of the virus as a result of behaviour behaviours of that kind. And, you know, I'm under no illusions about how dangerous this virus is to the health of any individual, and all of us. And that is why we have to do everything we possibly can to keep it low. Words are simply not matched with deeds. The major source of infection of COVID-19 now is among healthcare workers. After all that we went through, it is healthcare workers who are getting the virus, and Sinead Murphy described what they're having to deal with. Working 12-hour shifts, not getting adequate breaks, chronically understaffed, so there aren't people to take over and reduce the amount of hours they're working, and even when people are identified as contacts of those who are positive, still being encouraged to come into work sometimes because of staff shortages. That's the reality we're facing. And that's when infection levels are quite low. What is going to happen if a second wave arrives? And there just doesn't seem to be any focus on this. I mean, the July stimulus, as I understand the reports, it's money to guarantee banks, it's money for big businesses, but nothing about building up the healthcare capacity and recruiting in large numbers healthcare workers in order to reach safe staffing levels and additional capacity in the healthcare service. I note, by the way, it hasn't received much coverage, that the budget of EU for health was slashed as well at the recent negotiations, slashed the money that was supposed to be for stockpiles of ventilators, of additional funds for national health services to deal with COVID-19, slashed and it's received no coverage. And that seems to be reflected in the priorities of this government, not actually getting in and supporting the healthcare workers and the health service which we need to protect us, which is the front line and will be the front line against COVID-19 come the autumn. First of all, the government will prioritise healthcare and healthcare workers in relation to getting through COVID. And we will get through it. And we not just acknowledge, but we know full well the incredible role that healthcare workers have played in helping the people in this country to come through COVID. And that will continue to be the case. And that's why, you know, we will have a 30 billion deficit at the end of this year, because of the enormous expenditure in health. And that will continue in terms of the expenditure and health right through 2021 as well. Testing has really increased significantly. And testing of healthcare workers in terms of all the nursing homes, for example, there's been a programme underway by the HSE in terms of testing all healthcare workers in nursing homes. And that will continue on a systemic basis to make sure that we can avoid, you know, what happened in terms of the widespread of the virus within the nursing home sector, and similarly within the acute hospital sector as well. And I just have to say to you, the stimulus is not about big business and banks. The stimulus is about workers, Deputy. I'm sure you want workers, their jobs preserved and livelihoods improved. The reason we'll have a 30 billion deficit and why we're going to have a substantial stimulus programme is to keep jobs going for workers, create opportunities for young people in particular, in terms of activation, in terms of work, because we are a global economy. Ireland develops well when it can export its goods and services abroad and people buy them. The international scene is not good. Thank you. And therefore, it's very important that we take measures that can enhance the domestic capacity of our economy during this period, which is all about workers, giving workers a chance. Yes, small companies will benefit and companies will benefit to a certain scale. Why? Because we want them to survive. Why do we want them to survive? Because they work, they provide employment to people, Deputy. And no, there's too much simplistic catch cries and slogans emanating. I have great respect for you, as a thoughtful parliamentarian and so on, but every now and again, we get sort of empty rhetoric about everything is about big business. It's all about workers. It's all about workers. It's all about workers. It's all about workers. It has to be.