Local Tallaght T.D. Seán Crowe has said that vacant accommodation and hotels should be used to accommodate frontline healthcare staff where possible and that there is a need to be more proactive in supporting these vital workers at this time. Deputy Crowe said that a number of nurses and other hospital staff have returned home to help in the fight against COVID-19 and now find that they are now struggling to access accommodation or cannot stay at home due to “at risk” people within the household.
Deputy Crowe said: “Many Healthcare workers have returned home to Ireland to fight the COVID-19 outbreak here have found it difficult to find suitable accommodation in the current health emergency due to a lack of supply and some homes having ‘at risk’ people within the household. “Many hoteliers and others have already offered accommodation capacity to the government to help with the crisis and these offers need to be acted on immediately. “The Government approach should also look at providing vacant student accommodation to nurses where possible to help ease the burden they are now facing.
“The announcement from the Minister for Health Simon Harris that healthcare workers should move out of home due to the risk of spreading the virus seems to me to be a logical step forward, but the government and the HSE need to be more proactive in supporting them at this time. “Many of our frontline health workers have to travel long distances and working long shifts to tackle this emergency. Any support or solutions to tackle this accommodation crisis needs taken.”
