One of the weekend newspapers billed the Government's reopening measures as "going for broke". I sincerely hope that was not a pun and that the plan will succeed. I have been quite critical of some of the Government measures. The Taoiseach has never taken any responsibility for some of those measures and has always said it is because of Covid that this, that or the other has closed. On the other hand, he has said we have fared better than other countries. He has taken the credit but not the downside.

I have long argued that I would have preferred to have seen fewer restrictions on society and the economy generally and more targeted interventions. One area in particular that needed targeted interventions was the nursing home sector and, in fairness, the Government provided the temporary assistance payment scheme, TAPS, for it. However, we are learning now that, in conjunction with the measures the Government is announcing, it is taking away that temporary assistance to nursing homes. I accept that the scheme is temporary but, equally, it is essential. The threat in general has not subsided and the threat has not subsided for nursing homes in particular. We know congregated settings are a risk, whether that be direct provision centres, where there was an outbreak in Ennis last week, meat factories, where there are continuing risks and outbreaks or, indeed, nursing homes. There was an outbreak very recently in Marymount nursing home in Cork, in the Taoiseach's constituency, notwithstanding that all the staff and residents were vaccinated.

Continuing measures are necessary in nursing homes and in congregated settings more generally. If that is not funded through the TAPS, how will it be funded? We all accept that we cannot go back to the situation as it was before and that there had to be a change in practices in nursing homes. I very much welcome that change. The committee I chaired recommended a systemic change away from reliance on nursing homes towards care in the community. In conjunction with that committee, the previous Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, set up a nursing home expert panel. The Government has not implemented any of the recommendations of the committee I chaired or the expert panel, yet, at the same time, it is taking away the supports nursing homes currently have to introduce safer practices. How are nursing homes to pay for this? If not through the TAPS, will there be an increase in the amount they are paid through the fair deal scheme? We all accept that greater measures have to be taken and those measures must be paid for.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. We will have to agree to disagree in terms of the issue around the imposition of restrictions in society. The measures we have taken overall have resulted in fewer deaths in Ireland and less severe illness than in other countries that took a different approach. Ultimately, the role of Government is to protect lives and public health to the very best of its ability.

In terms of the nursing homes scheme, and the TAPS in particular, the first point I have to make is that the results from the vaccination programme have been very significant in terms of nursing homes, with a reduction almost to the point of elimination of severe disease in nursing homes, among both staff and residents. The serial testing is revealing that and new protocols for visiting nursing homes have been introduced as a result.

That has been very positive and needs to be acknowledged. The Government has allocated very substantial resources under TAPS. It provides contributions to nursing homes towards the cost of maintaining isolation rooms and provided a one-off contribution towards temporary visiting infrastructure during winter 2020. Over 6,675 claims have been processed and approved since 10 May. Approximately €93.9 million in direct financial support will be provided to the sector in 2021, with €42 million provided so far. That is a very substantial allocation of resources.

In addition to TAPS, the HSE has provided other enhanced measures to support nursing homes and their residents in the context of Covid-19: the Covid response teams, access to PPE and oxygen, support for staff accommodation, access to training and the serial testing programme. As Deputy McNamara will know, priority vaccination was provided to nursing homes and the uptake has been extraordinary. I think it is at nearly 99%. The strong vaccine effect is very evident in the nursing homes, with huge reductions, as I have said, in the numbers of cases and outbreaks and in mortality.

Essentially, we are now into a different phase of the pandemic as we speak. The vaccination programme is having an impact. There are consequences to that as we move forward and allocate resources in a more targeted manner. Again, the Government will be there to support nursing homes. At the time of the introduction of TAPS, our nursing homes were in a far different position in respect of Covid-19. The outbreaks that were occurring are no longer occurring at all or in no way to the same extent or frequency. TAPS was part of a wider suite of supports. We should now evaluate and take lessons from the pandemic as to how in the medium term we can ensure a more supportive environment for nursing homes.

The Taoiseach did a good job of outlining what TAPS supported, and I welcome that, but how will that be supported now? He says there will be supports. I am told that nursing homes that have contacted Ministers have been told that, if there is an outbreak, moneys will be made available, but the point of all this is to avoid outbreaks, in particular those in congregated settings. Notwithstanding the high take-up of vaccines, there are still outbreaks, unfortunately. They are fewer in number and their consequences are lesser, I accept, but we need to avoid the outbreaks and their consequences. The Taoiseach talked about lessons being learned. We will have to look at the spread of Covid-19 in healthcare settings and congregated settings. I think a tribunal will have to be considered to look at the earlier deaths in nursing homes in particular and whether people were sent home or sent into nursing homes from acute hospitals with Covid. How will nursing homes fund the measures that continue? Yes, the risk is lesser but it is still greatest among a certain cohort, and funding needs to be provided in that regard.

The supports have been very extensive. That needs to be said because very quickly they get read into the narrative and taken for granted. They have been exceptional supports because the pandemic has created a need for exceptional supports. As we get situations under control, however, the same level of supports will not be sustainable in many areas. We can work to support nursing homes in the event of any outbreaks, for example, such that assistance would be available to a nursing home in an outbreak.

It is too late.

The vaccination programme has had a very significant impact in bringing the situation within nursing homes under control. This does mean that we have to reconsider both the level and scale of supports if the situation comes under control in any given environment or situation. The more important point is the medium-term relationship between the State and the private nursing home sector, how it will evolve now and how we learn lessons from the pandemic in respect of that relationship.