Danny Healy-Rae Urges Visitor Access, Criticises Home by Eight Rule

Danny Healy-Rae sympathised with families who lost loved ones who died alone in hospitals and nursing homes and criticised current visitor restrictions. He challenged the "leaving set schedule", argued youngsters should be given a choice, and warned about pressure on frontline workers.

Sympathy for bereaved families

He began by expressing sympathy for all the families of people who died and who died alone in hospitals and nursing homes, calling that the saddest part of the whole thing and saying it should not have happened. He urged that it must not be allowed to happen again while visitors remain severely impeded from going to hospitals.

Named cases and frontline pressure

He highlighted individuals who became seriously ill, naming Gene Tagney from the Black Valley as a naturally fit man and mentioning Teddy O'Connor who is still sick. He also paid tribute to frontline workers and the heavy pressure they were under while doing so much for everyone.

Criticism of the leaving set schedule

He told ministers he was very disappointed with the leaving set schedule and its implementation, arguing that youngsters who missed so much should have been given a choice. He said many young people were ringing and very worried, warned the schedule could create more problems, and stated that the government had made the wrong decision while saying he was not blaming any individual.

Unusual guidance and the "home by eight" remark

He described some guidance as unusual, referencing guidelines that he said came from Netflix. He warned that if people were simply told they had to be home by eight o'clock that would not be practical for him and implied it was an inadequate approach to the issues raised.