Carol Nolan Warns of PPE, Welfare Gaps and Nursing Home Risks
Deputy Carol Nolan spoke about the impact of COVID-19 on health services, welfare entitlements and regional employment, urging urgent fixes. She praised frontline health staff and volunteers but said the government had not got everything right and highlighted problems with PPE, age discrimination in new payments, carers' entitlements, and nursing-home protections.
Condolences and frontline praise
She began by expressing her deepest condolences to those who have passed away and to affected families, and commended hard-working health staff on the front lines, in hospitals and nursing homes, as well as GA clubs and volunteers assisting the most vulnerable.
Welfare entitlements and age discrimination
She accepted and commended mitigation measures for unemployment and the SME and agricultural sectors, but warned that inequalities and anomalies in the new welfare entitlement regime are emerging. She highlighted age discrimination for those over 66 who cannot claim the payment and uncertainty for carers about what payments they can access, and said she has written to the Minister for Social Protection to resolve these issues.
Nursing homes, outbreaks and PPE shortages
She raised serious concerns about transmission levels and difficulties in nursing homes and non-acute residential settings, citing recent deaths at St. Vincent's Portleish and calling for urgent protective supports for staff and patients. She cited emerging evidence from the long-term care policy network and warned that shortages of PPE or deliveries of unusable materials cannot continue, suggesting consideration of directing production toward PPE.
Regional jobs and pre-existing priorities
She noted that the people of the Midlands are facing uncertainty around the future of Boredomona and that workers remain worried about the timeline for the Just Transition Strategy. She stressed that pre-COVID problems — educational inequalities for children with disabilities, housing supply deficits and cuts to the cap budget — still require sustained attention.
Call for continued prioritisation
She concluded that whatever government takes shape in the weeks and months ahead must keep these issues at the top of the priority list and reiterated her calls for practical solutions to protect vulnerable people and workers during the crisis.
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I want to begin by expressing my deepest condolences to all of those who have passed away, to all of the families affected, and indeed those who were very ill at this time. Teachta, the challenges that our country and our communities are facing because of COVID-19 are stark, and while they are unlike anything we have ever experienced before, and they will be with us for many years to come, I want to commend our hard-working health staff on the front lines, in our hospitals and indeed in nursing homes throughout this state, our GA clubs and volunteers who are also playing their part in assisting the most vulnerable in our communities. I accept and I commend the mitigation measures that have been drawn up to address the catastrophic increase in unemployment, the effect of collapse of the SME sector and the systematic disruption of the agricultural sector. But that does not mean that the government has done everything right and got everything right, and that has to be pointed out, not to criticise, but as part of a constructive engagement. Inequalities and anomalies in the new welfare entitlement regime are fast coming to light, particularly in terms of the age discrimination for over 66 who are not able to claim the payment. Our carers, despite the great work of Family Cares Ireland, also remain very uncertain about what payments they can access also, and I think that needs to be rectified. I have written to the Minister for Social Protection to sort out those issues. Our nursing homes and other non-acute residential settings are experiencing great difficulties and transmission levels that are very concerning. My thoughts are with the families of those who passed away at St. Vincent's Portleish at the weekend, and I am calling on government to make sure that more protective supports and measures are put in place urgently to protect the staff and the patients at that facility and every other facility throughout the state. The emerging evidence from the long-term care policy network has highlighted the scale of the problems that we are facing in the sector. Shortages of PPE material or deliveries of unusable materials simply cannot go on. We must consider directing or mandating our production sector towards the delivery of PPE equipment. In the middle of this national crisis, the people of the Midlands are also facing major uncertainty around the future of Boredomona, and I have been contacted again by many workers and the timeline for the Just Transition Strategy. All the problems we faced prior to the COVID-19 crisis remain. Educational inequalities for children with disabilities, housing supply deficits, cuts to the cap budget still need our sustained attention if they are to be effectively and fairly tackled. Whatever government takes shape in the weeks and months that lie ahead will need to keep all of these issues on the top priority list. Go raibh maith. Go raibh maith.
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