An inspection undertaken by HIQA at St. Joseph's Hospital, Ennis, in March found that some patients had gone a period of months without showering. We have had Joe Duffy telling us to wash our hands every day on the radio. The latter has been drilled into us and yet the necessity of washing themselves was denied to patients at St. Joseph's in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid within the facility. Ultimately, there were 32 positive Covid cases and six deaths at St. Joseph's. I ask that the Government investigate the circumstances around this as a matter of urgency and engage with senior HSE management to ensure that it never happens again in any public hospital.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It would be unacceptable if persons were not afforded the opportunity to wash. I will certainly talk to the HSE about the matter and get its perspective on what transpired.