CASH CRISIS ON FIRST DAY BACK
New Dáil signs off on €2.5billion in emergency funding to help tackle the crisis of coronavirus
THE Department of Health could spend up to €1billion on personal protective equipment this year, as the cost of dealing with Covid19 continues to rise.
The newly formed Government signed off on almost €2.5billion in emergency funding yesterday.
The first act of the 33rd Dáil was to provide €2billion in additional funding to the Department of Health and €483million to the Department of Trade and Enterprise.
A July stimulus package is currently being formulated by the new Government, and will be announced in the next three weeks, while a longer-term economic recovery plan will be unveiled in October’s Budget.
However, the emergency funding was required to maintain existing supports that are already in place and to allow for the functioning of both departments to continue.
The recently appointed Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly told the Dáil that the cost of purchasing PPE by his department could be as high as €1billion in 2020.
Minister Donnelly said ‘all options are on the table’ after being asked by Green Party TD Ossian Smyth if there were plans to source and manufacture PPE domestically, given that it is going to be a long-term requirement.
In his first speech as Minister for Health, Mr Donnelly thanked healthcare workers, whom he said have been asked to ‘work relentlessly in the face of what must have seemed like endless days and nights’. He added: ‘I thank every one of them from the bottom of my heart for all they have done.’
Minister Donnelly used his maiden speech to say there would be ‘major reform’ in the health service, which would see increased funding and increased capacity.
The minister said the overarching goal was to deliver ‘universal healthcare through the public system’ and committed to accelerating Sláintecare, the cross-party plan to reform the health sector.
However, he warned there were a few short-term measures that were required first to guide the country through the Covid crisis.
The additional funding means the total budget for the Department of Health so far this year is almost €20billion.
The Health Minister warned ‘it does not represent the total cost for Covid-19 this year’.
Acute bed capacity, increased numbers of people claiming medical cards and winter planning for the health service will likely see the health budget soar further.
‘I will be back before the House looking for additional funding; there is a lot more that will need to be done,’ he said.
Minister Donnelly said the public health system is facing an ‘unprecedented crisis’ as hospitals face dramatic reductions in capacity, with 20% of beds required to be left vacant for social distancing, and capacity of some specialists and surgeons being cut in half.
Minister Donnelly told the Dáil that the deal with the private hospitals, which cost more than €112million, ended yesterday. Discussions are ongoing with the private hospitals about sourcing additional capacity if needed.
Sinn Féin Health spokeswoman Louise O’Reilly criticised the ‘clarity’ in the estimates, which she said did not show ‘where the money is being spent’.
However, she noted that they were compiled before Mr Donnelly took office.
The 33rd Dáil sat for its first debate in the makeshift temporary Chamber in the Convention Centre in Dublin’s Docklands, to accommodate all 160 TDs.
The decision to move to the Convention Centre was in case of a vote being called on the approval of the funding. However, no vote took place.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Trade and Enterprise Leo Varadkar received €483million in additional funding to help fund sup
‘Endless days and nights’
ports to businesses across the country. Mr Varadkar said the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme would be ‘re-purposed’ and additional supports offered to struggling businesses. The Tánaiste also told the Dáil there was ‘no time to waste’ and that the funding was imperative to supporting jobs across the country.
‘The stakes are high because we need the authority from this House and the funds to continue the work being done beyond the next couple of weeks,’ he said.
The Tánaiste also said the majority of the overspend in his department’s budget related to the response to Covid-19.
In response to the pandemic, a number of existing programmes and supports being operated were ‘repurposed’ to adapt to the economic fallout arising from the pandemic.
The Tánaiste said grants, credit schemes, working loan capital and micro-finance loans were being made available to businesses across the country,
Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster sought for interest-free loans to be provided and for companies who have been excluded from obtaining supports for ‘arbitrary’ reasons to be included.