Fianna Fáil TD Stephen Donnelly in the Dáil yesterday afternoon

Yesterday afternoon.

As the Minister for Health Simon Harris answered questions from TDs about the State’s response to Covid-19, Fianna Fáil TD Stephen Donnelly raised another health matter.

After asking Covid-19-specific questions, Mr Donnelly also told Mr Harris:

“I wish to raise the issue of the non-Covid-19 fatality rate. New analysis shows that non-Covid-19 fatalities in March and April are up considerably on previous years.

“This might be happening for many reasons, but I am concerned that we have empty private hospitals. Doctors are telling me about empty operating theatres. Many surgeons and their teams who want to treat people must essentially sit on their hands.”

Mr Harris answered Mr Donnelly’s Covid-19-related questions but did not respond to Mr Donnelly’s point about non-Covid-19 fatality rate, after Mr Donnelly interrupted Mr Harris to tell him that he was sharing his time with his Fianna Fáil colleague Mary Butler.

Meanwhile, last night on RTÉ’s Ireland On Call…

It was reported that there has been a 50 per cent drop in the number of child patients presenting at the Children’s Hospital in Crumlin since the outbreak of Covid-19 – even though the hospital has separate non-Covid-19 emergency departments.

In addition, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist Prof Aengus O’Marcaigh told Katie Hannon:

“We’ve noticed over the past four weeks that there’s been a significant reduction in the number of new cases of children with serious malignant diseases coming in. We feel it’s related to the Covid and it may well be in some part due to a reluctance on the part of parents or carers to bring children in.

“So what the message I want to get across is that if you’re worried about your child, please bring them in.”

Dáil transcript via Oireachtas.ie

Watch RTÉ’s Ireland’s On Call in full here