Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
2582. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the study his Department has carried out into the long-term cost of lockdowns on the health of the nation; and the details of any cost-benefit analysis that has been carried out into the prolonged period of lockdown. [38280/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraFrom the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ireland’s response has been guided by seven ethical principles: solidarity, fairness, minimising harm, proportionality, reciprocity, privacy and a duty to provide care. In March 2020, the Department of Health published the Ethical Framework for Decision-making in a Pandemic, setting out these principles. This Framework can be found online: www.gov.ie/en/publication/dbf3fb-ethical-framework-for-decision-making-in-a-pandemic/.
Any measures introduced are aimed at limiting the spread and damage of COVID-19, and are necessary to protect our key priorities of supporting and maintaining health and social care services, keeping education and childcare services open and protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities.
As the Deputy will be aware, on 29 June, Government announced the next phase of reopening the economy and society in line with Recovery and Resilience: The Path Ahead and significant parts of our society and economy have now reopened.
Government decision-making on public health measures has been informed by public health, economic and social impact assessments which have been undertaken on an ongoing basis throughout the pandemic with inputs from across Government to understand and assess both the impacts of the pandemic and the impacts of the restrictions imposed to manage it.
The HSE has also examined the impact of the pandemic and the societal restrictions on health and wellbeing on service capacity and delivery and has presented a plan for health care and population health recovery arising from COVID-19. This paper can be found online: www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/qid/covid-19-qi-learning/qi-resources-to-support-learning-from-covid19/covid-19-pandemic-impact-paper-2021.pdf
Significant progress has been made on suppressing the virus over recent months due to the huge effort of people across the country. By working together, we have saved lives and limited the impact of the disease on society in Ireland. To protect the gains of recent months we must continue to practice basic preventative behaviours and to follow public health guidelines.
