Colm Gildernew
Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his statement. I have been working with Dungannon Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It will welcome this work, particularly in light of its concerns about vacancy and protecting the retail heart of towns such as Dungannon.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, you said that there has been an improvement. However, recently, there were reports of over 1,400 patients waiting more than 28 days. How will you ensure that trusts consistently meet the targets for suspected cancer appointments in particular?”
“However, the Committee will want to examine carefully how any new or amended powers would operate in practice. Powers relating to information sharing, official warnings, directions, removal from office and disqualification can have significant, long-standing consequences for charities, trustees, staff, volunteers and, indeed, public confi…”
“<BR /> <BR />The regulations are consequential to the uprating order and provide the supporting technical changes needed to ensure that the revised benefit rates operate correctly. The regulations increase the earning limit for carer's allowance from £196 a week to £204 a week.”
“In response to those findings, Minister Hargey introduced the Charities Bill, which was enacted in 2022. The legislation put in place many of the review's priority recommendations in the limited time remaining in that mandate. The Charities (Amendment) Bill represents the next stage of that reform programme.”
“The Committee will wish to explore the implications of those changes, including for organisations operating across jurisdictions or delivering charitable activity in or from the North. Our charity sector includes a diverse range of bodies.”
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“It fought against language rights, it opposed marriage equality, and now it seeks to deny women's rights to access safe and legal healthcare services for themselves and their families. <BR /> <BR />In 2017, the United Nations found the British Government guilty of grave and systemic violations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Members will remember 2017 also to be the year that the DUP entered into the confidence-and-supply arrangements to form a Government with the same Conservative Party that oversaw those violations. <BR /> <BR />Is it the case that disability rights are right for the DUP only when it is politically expedient?”
“Members asked about the consultation undertaken, statistical information around services, screening and inequalities, and the provision of supports and services following screening, before the proposer introduced the Bill. Following the briefing, the Committee agreed that it would not take a position on the principles of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />I will now make some remarks as Sinn Féin spokesperson for health. The right to access compassionate and legal personal healthcare, which the DUP seeks to deny, is a right that belongs to all, and no political party or political body should move to undermine or exclude anyone from that right. At no time in the Assembly have we seen evidence of the DUP fighting for an extension of rights to anyone.”
“I will make some initial remarks on behalf of the Health Committee outlining the Committee's consideration of the Bill before speaking as my party's health spokesperson. <BR /> <BR />The Committee first considered the Bill at its meeting on 18 February, just after its introduction at First Stage. As the proposer outlines, the Bill seeks to remove the ground for an abortion in cases of severe fetal impairment. <BR /> <BR />At its meeting on 18 February, the Committee agreed to write to the Human Rights Commission to seek the commissioners' views on the Bill's compatibility with human rights. On 11 March, the proposer of the Bill, with representatives of the Don't Screen Us Out organisation, briefed the Committee on the principles of the Bill. A number of questions were put to the proposer and witnesses.”
“Go raibh maith agat, Minister, for coming today and for your answer thus far. I am sure that the Minister shares my hope that everyone eligible will get and accept the vaccine when it gets to their cohort. I am delighted to say that I fall into the 50-to-59 age group, and I am one of the 30,000 who has booked a vaccine appointment for this week. I will be delighted and will ensure that it is an appointment that I will not miss. <BR /> <BR />Minister, what plans do you have to communicate the safety of the vaccine in order to maintain public confidence?”
“It is, Members, nothing short of a disgrace that families of bereaved children in the North have to board a plane to Liverpool with their child's body if they wish to have an autopsy carried out because we could not sustain delivery of that service here in the North. We have to address that. <BR /> <BR />All of those substantial issues are coming at us and cannot be wished away. We need to take a long-term approach to all of those worrying issues, and we need the funding and longer-term capacity to plan and deliver services into the future. That will require multi-annual and recurrent funding and a realistic progressive tax base in order to deliver on the needs of and potential for our population.”
“It is seriously disappointing in that context that funding is not available to significantly advance the urgent need to transform our system to meet our needs. We also need to have an honest and progressive conversation about how we improve and contribute to transformation on an all-Ireland basis. It makes no sense to plan how we retain and expand, for example, the top-performing stroke unit at Enniskillen hospital and other services based there, if we continue to ignore the significant populations to the south, east and west of that hospital. It makes no sense to ignore the potential for an all-Ireland surgical network to address the pressures on waiting lists that we have already considered and are currently experiencing.”
“<BR /> <BR />COVID and long COVID will put additional pressures on core health services and will, if allowed to occur unchecked, fuel further inequalities in our population. We also need to consider seriously how we prepare for future pandemics and work our way out of this pandemic. That needs to be done, along with health transformation, on an all-Ireland basis. We cannot ever again see a situation where we send front-line Health and Social Care workers out to deal with an unknown virus without the proper protective equipment, the proper guidance and the proper support structures that they need. That will also have to be planned and paid for. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I move on to transformation of our health and social care system. That is absolutely essential to help us to address all of the issues that I have touched on.”
“They will live longer, which is to be welcomed, but we have to ensure that we have the health and social care system to meet their needs. <BR /> <BR />The pandemic that we are experiencing has further exposed the unrelenting nature of the health inequalities that assign health and well-being according to postcode. Indeed, as we in the Chamber all know, there can be several years of difference in life expectancy along the same bus journey in the city of Belfast, depending on where you start that journey. Our more deprived communities continue to be plagued by unacceptable levels of alcoholism, drug addiction and suicide, highlighting the need for significant investment in those services, and that significant investment is lacking.”
“These are real people in a real economy who will spend real money in our businesses. We need to consider things such as social value in terms of health and well-being and outcomes, we need to consider how we can impact on economic inactivity, and we need to ensure that we have a well-resourced and properly paid workforce. <BR /> <BR />I will move on to talk about the ageing population. Again, to flag up serious concerns, NISRA statistics demonstrate that the population is becoming increasingly older and that the number of people who are over 65 will increase by 50% over the next 25 years. That is a massive responsibility on every one of us to start to plan and prepare for how we will deal with that ageing population. They will have comorbidities.”
“Every one of those posts puts additional pressure on the staff who are trying to work in the health service to deliver health services in the teeth of the pandemic and beyond it. In that context, it is hugely disappointing that the British Government have once again failed to recognise the huge contribution made by nurses and Health and Social Care staff before, during and after the pandemic with the proposed 1% pay rise. That is simply not acceptable. The British Government must do more, and the British Chancellor needs to engage seriously with the nursing and health and social care unions. <BR /> <BR />I also welcome the discussion about a fiscal commission and the debate that that opens. Too often, the terms and conditions and pay for Health and Social Care staff are viewed through the prism of being a cost only: they are not.”
“There has also been a significant drop in hospital activity, partly in response to COVID-19, compared with the period between September and December. <BR /> <BR />I move now to the workforce. We often hear discussions about building capacity and the transformation and development of Health and Social Care services, but what we are really discussing is staffing and the adequate provision of nurses, doctors, healthcare assistants, cleaners, porters, physios and OTs — the entire range of multidisciplinary experience and skills that it takes to deliver a modern health service. As of December 2020, at the height of the COVID pandemic, there were 5,543 vacancies across our health and social care sector, and the Department was actively recruiting for them.”
“I will pick up some points to illustrate the scope and range of areas that we are looking at that require multi-year planning, budgeting and recurrent funding. I will touch briefly on waiting lists, workforce, the ageing population, health inequalities, COVID and long COVID, pandemic preparedness and transformation. <BR /> <BR />Waiting lists will require multi-year funding. The Department estimates that it will take between £750 million and £1 billion over 10 years, so significant new investment is needed. Some 327,000 people are waiting for their first outpatient appointment: that is by far the worst across these islands. As of 21 December, 105,159 patients were waiting to be admitted to hospital for a procedure. That is an increase of 16·2% on December 2019.”
“The chairs of the trusts outlined in their response to the draft Budget that their organisations could not continue to rely on in-year, non-recurrent funds and that multi-year Budgets were required to improve financial resilience and planning. I ask that the Executive consider the level of funding available to the health service and that a priority for the Executive should be the delivery of an effective, efficient and suitably resourced health service. <BR /> <BR />I will now make some remarks as Sinn Féin spokesperson on health. I declare an interest, having worked as a social worker and being on a career break from one of our health trusts. I also have close family who work in health and social care, but that probably applies to most of us. That will be relevant to everything that I say.”
“They have saved many lives with their care, and we thank them for that. However, the pandemic has continued to outline the need for transformation in the health service. We need a health service that is fully staffed and able to support our staff in delivering services to the public. To enable that, we need to move to a multi-year recurrent Budget. While we understand the need for single-year Budgets to address the increasing backlogs in the health system, there needs to be significant investment and a multi-year Budget to allow the Department of Health to plan properly and to prioritise over the coming years.”
“I welcome the opportunity to make some remarks on behalf of the Health Committee before speaking as my party's health spokesperson. <BR /> <BR />There is no doubt that this has been a difficult and challenging financial year. A considerable amount of planning and priorities have had to be put on the back burner, and budgets have had to be redirected towards fighting the pandemic and its economic outcomes. That has been most evident in the Department of Health, where resources have had to be redirected to care for those most in need and important services and surgeries have had to be cancelled or deferred. <BR /> <BR />At that point, I pay tribute again to the Department's greatest resource — its front-line Health and Social Care (HSC) staff. Without their dedication and service, we would be in a very different situation.”
“As part of that building back after the pandemic, will the joint First Minister commit to ensuring that equal consideration is given to social improvement as to economic recovery?”
“Go raibh maith agat, joint First Minister, for the statement and for your answers to the questions today. I particularly welcome the document's acknowledgement of the willingness and recognition of the ability to learn from places that have done better in this and previous pandemics. I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the very significant contribution made by the experts and academics who have given evidence to the Health Committee and in other fora. <BR /> <BR />Despite the enormous difficulties that we as a society have faced over the past 12 months, the strategy for recovery provides an opportunity to do things differently and, indeed, to strive to do things better moving forward, rather than simply returning to normality.”
“Minister, I appreciate that you have given some information on pigs and poultry. I welcome that, given the concentration of those sectors in south Tyrone. As well as the financial envelope, can you outline any additional information about the scheme and touch on organic milk producers and whether they are included in the hardship funds?”
“In one year alone, more than 5,000 of our children required 23,000 teeth to be extracted at a cost of around £9 million to the healthcare budget. The truth is that we are operating under a strategy that is outdated and increasingly irrelevant. Yet, when the Department was asked to develop a new oral health strategy, it told us that the outdated strategy, which is not working, was enough. Oral health is just one example of where profound inequalities exist in our society today, but the important point is that those inequalities can and must be addressed once and for all.”
“<BR /> <BR />The health and social care sector faces many challenges. One of the longest-lasting and most consequential challenges is that of health inequalities. We live in a society where life expectancy and healthy living are largely determined by postcode. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, I started to look at the problem of oral health here in the North. The inequalities are immense and absolutely shocking. Across the North, particularly in our more deprived communities, large numbers of children are suffering needlessly from the largely preventable disease of tooth decay, with many requiring hospitalisation, a general anaesthetic and multiple extractions. The figures are shocking, with more than 70% of under-15s having tooth decay.”
“<BR /> <BR />One year later, we have unprecedented challenges, among which are waiting lists for elective procedures and life-saving red-flag surgeries. During the height of the third wave of the pandemic, trusts across the North were forced to cancel life-saving cancer surgeries for hundreds of patients. Tragically, we are now playing catch-up, but it may already be too late for some people. All the challenges that we face across the health and social care sector are intensified by our inability to plan because of the budgetary process. Planning requires confidence that there will be money to fulfil those plans. That is why we must have multi-year budgets. We must have confidence that we can fulfil the health and social care needs of our population over the long term and that we will have the funding to do that.”
“Our health and social care system is in crisis. It has been in crisis for years, and it will be in crisis for many more years until it is properly funded. Austerity has consequences. The COVID pandemic did not cause the crisis in our health service; it simply exacerbated and exposed the stresses created by the political choice of Tory Governments not to fund it properly. As the pandemic took hold here in the North, we found ourselves facing this challenge with equipment shortages and staff shortages. We did not even have the basic PPE when it was needed. We asked already overworked and underpaid healthcare workers to face the dangers while ill-equipped and unprotected, and they did it. We are forever indebted to every single one of them.”
“We are aware of the significant pressures in relation to waiting lists and the need to restart services. There will, no doubt, be additional pressures throughout the year during the recovery from COVID, such as dealing with the impact and reality of long COVID. However, there will also be a need for significant resource to support an increased demand for current mental health programmes and to develop and implement new programmes to support people. <BR /> <BR />The Committee is here not only to scrutinise the work of the Department but to advise and assist the Minister. We look forward to working with the Department over the coming months and advising it on its work to deliver services to those in need. <BR /> <BR />If I may, a LeasCheann Comhairle, I will say a few words as Sinn Féin health spokesperson.”
“<BR /> <BR />At a recent briefing, the Committee asked questions about the costs of agency staff in the health and social care system. Just this week, the Department responded in writing. It outlined that the cost of agency staff for 2020-21 is expected to be £273 million, with forecast costs for 2021-22 of between £275 million and £300 million. The Committee appreciates that there will always be a need for a level of agency staff to deal with various pressures across the system. However, this is a significant expenditure when we are considering workforce planning and the need for additional staffing and resource in the system. Surely a large proportion of that spend could be allocated to workforce planning. <BR /> <BR />COVID recovery will be a key factor in the prioritisation of the delivery of services.”
“The Committee has concerns that the current funding situation outlined by the Department will not allow the transformation programme to be taken forward with any real scale of ambition. <BR /> <BR />That only underlines the need for a fully resourced multi-year budget that will allow prioritisation and implementation of projects over a multi-year period. Indeed, a joint submission from the Chairs of all the health trusts and HSC bodies raised concerns about the proposed health budget as it was non-recurrent and prevented long-term planning and prioritisation. I urge the Executive to use the next year to plan and consult on a multi-year Budget, which would allow the health system to recover and make inroads into those increasing waiting lists.”
“Over the past year, the Committee has understood the need for the Department’s budget to be flexible as it had to be reactive to pressures as they arose. However, the recent publication of waiting lists has underlined the very clear problems that the Department faces in recovering from COVID and in delivering the full range of much-needed services to patients and the wider population. It is not good that we have over 320,000 people waiting for their first outpatient appointment, with over 50% waiting for over a year. <BR /> <BR />The Committee is due to be briefed on waiting lists at its meeting next week, and it will be good to hear the Department’s plans to recover and address this issue. Waiting lists will require significant resources and highlights the need for the Department to drive forward with its transformation programme.”
“Our thoughts are very much with those families who have lost loved ones over the past year and those who are continuing to feel the effects of COVID-19. <BR /> <BR />Each time I get up to speak on behalf of the Committee, I rightly pay tribute to those front-line health and social care workers who have gone above and beyond what is expected. We hope that the successful roll-out of the vaccination programme and reduction in the transmission rates will allow our front-line staff some well-earned respite. I also thank the Minister and officials in the Department of Health, the board, the trusts and those in back-office roles for all their work over the past year. <BR /> <BR />I will now outline some of the Committee's concerns about the budget process and the budget for the incoming year.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak today on behalf of the Health Committee. I will outline the Committee’s consideration of current financial pressures and raise some of the Committee's concerns about the Department of Health’s budget. <BR /> <BR />The Second Stage of last year’s Budget Bill was debated on 25 February 2020, and little did we know at that point of the impact that COVID-19 would have not only on the budget of the Department of Health but on wider society. The Department of Health's dashboard and NISRA figures up to 19 February show that over 2,057 deaths and 112,000 cases later, we are debating the Budget Bill again with our finances and budgets in an unprecedented set of circumstances.”
“Will the Minister give an update on the tendering for an advocacy support service for victims of domestic and sexual violence and abuse?”
“As the problems with long COVID surface, time will tell whether the damage done will further impact on the health of our less well-off. <BR /> <BR />Finally, we in Sinn Féin are concerned that the Department of Health has opted to carry out a high-level screening exercise, rather than a full equality impact assessment (EQIA), of the Department of Health's draft budget for 2021-22. Using a high-level screening exercise is a completely inadequate means of gathering the information needed to assess the relevant equality impacts or opportunities. Therefore, the Department of Health should proceed to a full equality impact assessment.”
“That is hugely disappointing and does not augur well for an improved health and social care sector. <BR /> <BR />As I mentioned, it is with consternation that I note the £90 million that was surrendered by the Department in the January monitoring round when so many priorities in health and social care could easily have benefited from that funding. It is worrying that, with the healthcare system showing so many stresses, the Department and the Minister could not identify an area of health where that money could be spent. <BR /> <BR />Of particular concern to Sinn Féin is that the pandemic has brought into sharp focus the impact of health inequalities across our more deprived communities, where infection and death rates during the pandemic have been significantly higher.”
“<BR /> <BR />To date, there is little evidence that any proactive planning is taking place in the Health Department: for example, there has been none of the workforce planning needed even to begin recommencing many of the non-COVID health procedures that patients have been waiting for for such a long time. Planning for health and social care requires long-term surety of funds. Therefore, rather than relying on monitoring rounds, we need multi-year Budgets that allow the effective, efficient planning and development of a health and social care sector that serves the health needs of our population. <BR /> <BR />We are told by the Department of Health that the long-awaited and much-needed transformation project will be less ambitious than previously thought because the funding simply does not exist.”
“It is undeniable that, under 10 years of Tory austerity, our health and social care sector has been starved of the resources that it needs to provide a reliable and efficient system of health and social care. For example, waiting lists are not a new development. They existed long before the arrival of COVID-19 and are the result of long-standing financial pressures caused by Tory austerity. The pandemic has exacerbated the waiting lists, and we now have the terrible reality that life-saving and red-flag surgery and procedures are being cancelled, causing additional intolerable suffering to patients across the North.”
“<BR /> <BR />I will also outline the difficulty that the Committee has in scrutinising the health and care budget, given that the Department of Finance, the Department of Health and the trusts allocate money under different headings, which can make it difficult to follow the funding. I encourage those involved to progress towards a clear line of sight in budgeting, which would increase transparency and improve the scrutiny of a large and complex budget. <BR /> <BR />If I may, I will make a few remarks as the Sinn Féin spokesperson on health. Many of the challenges that the health and social care sector faces predate the COVID-19 pandemic, although they have been exacerbated by it.”
“The Department has advised that, following the Executive's agreement to allocate additional funding of £175 million to purchase additional PPE, the post-January monitoring round position was almost £7·3 billion of resource and £358 million of capital. <BR /> <BR />The Committee welcomed the flexibility over the past year in allocating spend within the Department, but it raised concerns about the £90 million being surrendered by the Department in the January monitoring round. The Committee would like to see better budget planning and prioritisation over the next Budget period. That has also highlighted the need for multi-year Budgets, which would allow better planning and enable the Department to take forward a number of transformation projects, rather than having to rely on monitoring rounds to fund need.”
“I pay particular tribute to all the health and social care staff who, over the past year, have gone way above and beyond what was or should be expected of them and have striven to ensure that everyone has had the care and support that they needed. <BR /> <BR />It is concerning that, at a Committee meeting just a couple of weeks ago, the Department's director of finance briefed the Committee and outlined that the funding available did not allow the Department to undertake a transformation programme with any level of ambition and that there would not be enough money in the budget next year. <BR /> <BR />The Committee received briefings from the Department throughout the year on the 2020-21 Budget. The Department received a number of allocations throughout the year for the response to COVID-19.”
“The recent publication of waiting lists has only highlighted the difficult position in which the Department finds itself. We find ourselves in a position where we have over 320,000 people waiting for their first outpatient appointment, with over 50% waiting for over one year. The target is that no patient should wait for longer than one year for their first appointment. The statistics for inpatient day case and diagnostic waiting times also make for bad reading. We can and should outline the difficulties with COVID, but the situation goes beyond COVID and only outlines the need for the Department to drive forward the transformation programme and ensure that our wonderful and dedicated health and social care professionals have a system in place that is efficient, effective and reactive to the needs of the population.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak today on behalf of the Health Committee and will provide some information on the Committee's consideration of current financial pressures. <BR /> <BR />We are all aware that this has been a difficult and challenging year. The unprecedented pandemic has meant that a lot of the original Budget planning had to be put on hold and resources directed towards the Executive's response to COVID-19. While we understand the reasons and the need to redirect the Budget and funding, it has left the Department of Health and the wider public in a difficult position. In the coming years, the Department needs to consider how it can recover and restart vital services with considerable and growing backlogs. <BR /> <BR />We have seen the widespread postponement of elective surgery and services.”
“I thank the Minister for that update. It is a very worrying development, given the reported difficulties that it can create with regard to the vaccine. Can the Minister update us on what impact this might have on the restrictions that we are discussing and also on the find, test, trace, isolate and support approach to suppress the virus and this strain of it, along with all the others? What impact might this have on the vaccination programme?”
“Minister, given your acknowledgement that the pandemic will have exacerbated inequalities, does it not suggest that the Department needs to implement full equality impact assessments (EQIAs), rather than undertaking high-level screening?”
“I welcome the Member's recognition that it is critical that we cooperate right across this island in order to protect our populations. That cooperation needs to include the Departments of Health as well as the Departments of Justice. Does the Member agree that the memorandum of understanding that was signed by the two Health Departments should be developed and delivered on?”
“Does the Member recognise the issue of long COVID, particularly its impact on children? We cannot take lightly the fact that it has limited impact. Long COVID is still having a significant impact, and that needs to be considered.”
“I watched the statement last night. We should be doing what suits our circumstances here, based on the trajectory of the virus and the capacity of our health service. We should be looking to build on the gains made from the restrictions and, importantly, to provide certainty and confidence. In this period, it has been notable that people have understood what it is that is being asked of them. They have understood the purpose of the restrictions and broadly understood the plans for moving forward. We should be guided by our own Chief Medical Officer, how he sees the issue and how that feeds into the overall system and circumstances that apply in the North.”
“We do not want to squander the steady progress that we have seen over recent weeks. We must be guided carefully forward. We cannot waste the gains by moving too quickly at this time.”
“We are keen to see that system continuing to be built so that we do not put undue pressure on the health service as a result of surges such as those that we have seen. <BR /> <BR />I regret that there has been a lack of engagement on maximum suppression and how we can do significantly better with a really aggressive and robust find, test and trace system. The Committee wrote to the Minister about that at the end of July but has not received a response. That is an area of concern for us. <BR /> <BR />The restrictions are feeding into the pressure that is on the health service. We know that we have pushed our health service and hospitals beyond what, in some instances, they have been able to bear. We owe it to them to do everything that we can individually and collectively as a Department and an Assembly to ensure that that does not happen.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. That has been an issue of concern. We do not see the granular detail to support our consideration and scrutiny of restrictions being brought in or, indeed, eased. <BR /> <BR />It is important — imperative — that we build on and sustain the progress that we have made over the past weeks by moving out of the restrictions very carefully and gradually and on the basis of evidence and data that we have here in the North and on the island. We should work together to ensure that we maximise and extend the benefits that have been so hard fought for and won. In light of that, the Committee would like to see further information around find, test, trace, isolate and support, which will still be necessary to meet the existing virus and potential future mutations or variants of it.”
“That is very welcome, and we all look forward to brighter and sunnier days, such as those that we experienced over the past weekend. However, today's inclement weather reminds us that we will continue to face significant headwinds and that the virus will continue to present problems in the time ahead. In light of that, we continue to be concerned about the lack of progress on find, test, trace —.”
“However, I have concerns about the fact that the virus continues to mutate. We have seen that on these islands and across the world. The vaccine in itself will not be the entire solution. While it presents much cause for hope, we are not out of the woods as far as the virus goes. <BR /> <BR />The Minister will note that I am wearing a public health safety message badge about social distancing: I support that campaign. People should maintain the basic measures. We know that they are effective in suppressing the virus. I appeal to people not to gather in large numbers at local beauty spots, beaches and places such as that, which we saw happening over the weekend. We have all seen better weather, and the fact is that the numbers are travelling in the right direction in the suppression of the virus.”
“The Committee has written to the Department outlining those concerns. I note that there has been some indication in other jurisdictions of allowing limited outdoor gatherings and the return of organised adult and children's sport. I would be grateful if the Minister could outline the Executive's thinking on the issue and say whether any assessment has been made of the impact of easing restrictions in that area. <BR /> <BR />If I may, I will now make a few remarks in my role as Sinn Féin spokesperson on health. First, I acknowledge the tremendous work being done around the vaccine programme and the fact that further cohorts of people are being brought into it. That is a credit to everyone involved: the Minister, Patricia Donnelly and all the front-line staff who are working on that.”
“<BR /> <BR />At the briefing, the Committee also raised the issue of what guiding principles are in place to consider the lifting of restrictions over the coming weeks and months. The Department advised that the sequence for lifting the restrictions is being refreshed. It would be good to hear from the Minister on the progress of this review. We seek assurances that lessons have been learned over the past year. The Committee understands the need for the restrictions to be in place but is acutely aware of their effect on the mental health of our population. The Committee has received correspondence from individuals and organisations on outdoor exercise, especially for children and young people.”