Mattie McGrath urges PPE stockpile and raises mental health concerns
Mattie McGrath spoke in the House about emergency health legislation, PPE supply and supports for people affected by the public health emergency. He praised frontline workers, opposed rapid nationalisation of producers, and called for renewed scrutiny of Part Five of the Act and attention to mental health and private insurance issues.
Gratitude to frontline staff
He thanked frontline medics and volunteers, naming doctors, nurses, paramedics, civil defence and Red Cross Mountain Rescue, and commended the tens of thousands who offered services to the HSE and other frontline services.
PPE supply and domestic production
He raised concerns about conflicting reports on the availability and origins of PPE and urged that basic protective equipment be stockpiled. He praised domestic pharma firms and small manufacturers that shifted production to gowns and other equipment and said the State should engage more with producers rather than move quickly to nationalise them.
Legislative scrutiny and mental health
He warned that a lot of legislation is changing without proper scrutiny or opportunity for members to speak and insisted the House should return to debate Part Five of the Act. He highlighted worries about mental health supports, long-stay beds, counselling services and helplines during the crisis.
Private health insurance and patient payments
He asked the minister whether people with private health insurance can have premium payments paused or extended while private hospitals are operating in a public capacity, and sought clarity on protections against bad faith by insurers.
Faith, community support and protection of unborn life
He urged attention to community and neighbourhood supports, praised churches as places of refuge for prayer under safe conditions, and expressed strong opposition to measures that would lessen protections for the unborn. He said amendments to change those protections were not appropriate during the crisis and hoped the government would reject them.
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I want to thank the Minister for coming in, filling in from the Minister for Health in this section and I want to again at the outset, the people that are working so hard at frontline services and indeed our medics, Dr Tony Houlihan, we see him every night and indeed the Minister for Health and Taoiseach and everybody and all the group leaders and the support that we get as leaders in from our individual members. A lot of stuff has happened and changed, a lot of legislation is changing here without proper scrutiny, without proper input, without members being allowed to come in to speak on it at the usual process. So I want to thank all my colleagues in my group for the trust in Today and Deputy, I don't know how myself, to deal with it on their behalf because rural Ireland people are worried, people in urban Ireland are worried but all over. But I want again to salute to tens of thousands who have answered Ireland's call to offer their services to the HSE and frontline services and I want to commend them and indeed all the doctors, the nurses, paramedics, as I said, civil authorities, civil defence and indeed Red Cross Mountain Rescue, everybody. They're going above and beyond the call of duty and want to do that for the good of the people and the good of, you know, Nenath, the Colonel and the Cana. I have worries though, Minister, and I have worries and misleading, I don't say misleading is the wrong word, but the different stories that come out about the number of available PPEs and where they are and where they're coming from China and different reports and different programmes. We need basic tools of the trade and I hope we never again get caught napping as we have here with the necessity to have that kind of equipment. I think it should be on stockpile, I know it might run out of time for use or whatever, we should have access to it. And I don't agree with Deputy Smith, you know, trying to, you know, insist that we take over or, you know, nationalise some of the producers. We have some great pharma companies in this country and many of them are stepping up to the plate. I believe we should enter a greater dialogue with them to offer their services. We saw what a small firm I'm into daily could do in Ireland regarding the protective gowns and to change what they can do. Encouragement, carrot and stick, and the people haven't been found wanting yet in any part of our society, thankfully. I don't believe that we should be in a mad rush to nationalise this and nationalise that and nationalise the other. I do have a question, Minister, a question around part five of the Act and especially around mental health. It's a very difficult area. It's a very difficult area. We don't have a mental health long-stay bed for people who are normal at times suffering from, you know, mental health issues. But we should have the legislation here. I believe that we have to come back to the House and debate it again before it's extended. Certainly, that's in part five of the Act. But we need to look out for the mental health and wellbeing of our people at this day and age and the many different counselling services that are there. And, you know, the helplines are set up and the Gabby Street corner, they're doing a great job. The Postman, the Farraghsmen on, Pist, everybody's helping out. Community left groups, neighbourhood watch, you name it. GA clubs, soccer clubs, everybody. And I think it's very important that we do look out for each other, especially people that may be a bit down on themselves or whatever. I also want to ask a question about private health insurance minister. And since you are taking health, I have people contacting me, you know, we've seen a lot of bad faith from insurance companies. So people that have private insurance companies, when the private hospitals are now actually public, can they stay be put on their payments? If it's three months or six months, we're all in favour of it. But can they stay on their payments and their premiums? And will they get an extension without paying extra money? And people have been asking me, asking me those questions and that are rightly and the question that we should try and get answers if we can't administer. If you can. Look, as I said, I'm into the PPE equipment. I also have issues. I like Deputy Heather Tobin, but the any lessening of the threat to human life in the womb before babies are born. And I believe that in this time of crisis, I think it's appalling to think that people would try and extend that and have a more cavalier attitude to the taking of human life, I believe, from conception to to natural birth and death is a lifestyle. And I think that putting these amendments, I hope that the government will be rejecting them. I think they're not a place for them, but some people will not stop with anything in order to just pursue their narrow cause. And many, many people, thankfully, are turning back to, turning back to wisdom and wise ways, turning back to faith in these times as well, and their beliefs and prayer. And I make no apology for it. And they're damn glad to have the place to go and pray. And they're worrying that the churches will be totally closed. And they may well be. They are present for masses, but people are encouraged to go in to pray, of all the nominations. And they can leave when there's a mass being said they can't have a group there, but small numbers, safe distancing and everything else. So they're glad to have the refuge at the moment. Goorhebh Makhgoth. Goorhebh Makhgoth. Goorhebh Makhgoth. Goorhebh Makhgoth.
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