As part of the Evaluation’s consultation on long-term residential care facilities, over the month of May 2026 the Evaluation will hold private group listening sessions.

The listening sessions form an important part of the inputs into the Evaluation’s dedicated module examining the response to COVID-19 in long-term residential care facilities for older persons, and are specifically for bereaved families who lost loved ones in these facilities during the pandemic.

These sessions form one element of the Evaluations module on long term care facilities for older persons (LTCF). The Evaluation panel is engaging in wide-ranging research and consultation for this specific module, including;

• Engagement with stakeholders, advocacy organisations and groups.
• Engagement with experts, including through a workshop with researchers and experts, which provided insights and information on the research landscape and progress, in particular regarding work carried out for the 2020 Expert Panel Report and related implementation reports.
• Public consultation survey and personal submissions from those impacted by the response in this sector during the pandemic.
• Specific consultation on the response in long term residential care facilities for older people, across residents, bereaved families, staff and decision makers of long-term residential care facilities, including surveys and personal written submissions.
• Private listening sessions for bereaved relatives.
• Review and analysis of existing reports, outputs and research findings.

Inputs from Individuals

Overall, the Evaluation panel received approximately 1000 written inputs from individuals impacted by the pandemic response in this sector as part of its consultation.

• As part of the public consultation survey and personal submissions, over 400 responses related to long-term residential care were received by the Evaluation panel. Key issues raised included those relating to guidance and infection control, visiting restrictions, level of care, staffing, transfers (between hospitals and nursing homes), residents with dementia, end of life care and deaths.
• Furthermore, as part of the general public consultation, the Evaluation panel provided an opportunity for those impacted by long-term residential care facilities for older persons, in addition to engaging in the general consultation, to register their interest for an additional consultation relating specifically to long-term residential care facilities for older people.

• As part of this specific consultation on the pandemic response in this sector, multiple surveys provided the Evaluation with valuable inputs to further understand perspectives and experiences from those impacted, including relatives and visitors, and those who experienced bereavement.
• Over 600 responses were received, analysis of this data is ongoing and will be published on the COVID-19 Evaluation website shortly.

Inputs from Stakeholder Groups and Experts

As part of this consultation, the Evaluation panel members have met with numerous stakeholders involved in the area of long-term residential care, including with organisations supporting residents and families. These stakeholders have met directly with the Chair of the Evaluation to share their views and experiences. The Chair of the Evaluation has met with organisations including:

• Care Champions
• Sage Advocacy
• Nursing Homes Ireland
• Groups who advocate for patients and
• Related academics and researchers.

Meetings and workshops with academic experts and researchers in the area of long-term residential care, included those who have worked with some of the aforementioned advocacy groups as well as those involved in the 2020 Expert Panel Report and related implementation reports. This includes researchers who have considered peoples lived experiences, visiting restrictions in place during the pandemic, human rights, and optimal care and staffing approaches.  

These engagements, supported by wider written stakeholder submissions, have allowed the Evaluation panel, including Chair Prof Anne Scott, to understand the perspectives of impacted groups. Through these discussions, the Evaluation has developed an awareness and understanding of core issues and concerns, along with collective experiences.

The impact for bereaved families has been a strong area of focus for the Evaluation throughout, and the private listening sessions are an important element of the LTRC consultation.

Private Listening Sessions for Bereaved Relatives

All those who indicated an interest in attending these sessions, and who lost a loved one during the pandemic in a long-term care faciality for older persons, have been invited to do so. These private listening sessions take place in the coming days and weeks in Dublin, Limerick and Galway. The city locations were selected to best facilitate those who responded to the expression of interest invitation.

The sessions are an opportunity for bereaved relatives, in a personal capacity, to share their story and experience in a private group setting directly with the Chair of the Evaluation, Professor Anne Scott.

The Evaluation aims to understand, as deeply as possible, how the pandemic was managed and how people were impacted in order to learn from the pandemic experience, and to inform future decision making and responses during such crises. The sessions are being designed as listening opportunities, without any questioning.  This means sessions are not trying to establish facts like in a legal setting, but rather to listen, understand and document experiences and take learning from it.  Each session is being supported by experienced trauma informed facilitators from an organisation called Quality Matters, who are supporting this element of the work of the Evaluation. These sessions are being approached with sensitivity and compassion, mindful of people’s grief.   An aggregate detailed report drawing from each session will provide an overview account of experiences expressed. In line with the approach to the Evaluation’s other public consultation methods, this report will be published on the Evaluation’s website and will inform the Evaluation’s wider final report.

The final report, and related lessons learned and recommendations, will reflect the wide-ranging inputs and research undertaken across the module on Long Term Residential Care.

Note further information on Evaluation’s Terms of Reference

The Terms of Reference placed a focus on a number of areas, such as the overall performance of the health and social care system, and the wider impacts of the pandemic response on individuals, families and communities. They place a particular focus on examining the response to COVID-19 in long-term residential care facilities for older persons, taking account of the 2020 report of the Expert Panel on Nursing Homes and subsequent related progress, and wider information gathering, including the experience of bereaved families.

Findings from the Consultation for Children and Young People

The COVID-19 Evaluation has held three consultations as part of its work to gather first hand data and understand the lived experiences of people and how the pandemic impacted them.

Findings from the general public consultation are available here and a bespoke consultation on the response in long term residential care facilities for older people is ongoing.

Consultation for Children and Young People

In October 2025, the Evaluation held a consultation for people aged 16-25. This age category was chosen as those participants would have been aged 11-20 at the beginning of the pandemic, and their perspectives and key concerns are therefore likely to be somewhat nuanced compared to the entire adult population.

We received over 550 responses. You can find an overview of the findings below. A further detailed breakdown of the findings is available in this presentation.  

Background

The consultation featured an online focused survey that included themed multiple-choice questions and an open question for people to share their pandemic experience.

The survey was designed to capture and understand experiences across education, family life, employment, mental health and wellbeing, among other areas.

To inform the survey, the COVID-19 Evaluation worked with youth mental health charity Spunout.ie to design and run a focus group with children and young people. The survey was also tested by the COVID-19 Evaluation with a group of young people from Comhairle na nÓg.

Insights from this informed the survey, which resulted in a strong focus on:

• Education
• Development
• Milestone events

The Evaluation would like to thank these groups for their assistance.

Overview of findings

The top 3 concerns for respondents were:

1. Mental health and wellbeing (26%)
2. Relationships and social connections (23%)
3. Education and development (21%)

Areas most negatively impacted were:

• Mental health and wellbeing (71%)
  
• Education and development (65%)
  
• Physical health (50%)
  
• Relationships and connections with others (50%)

The dimensions or aspects explored in the survey were:

1: Relationships and social connections (including bereavement and life events and milestones)

– 50% reported negative impacts on their relationships and connections with others
– Children and young people who lost a loved one found it harder to not see friends or family due to restrictions

2: Mental health and wellbeing

Biggest strains on respondents’ mental health included:

Loneliness (13%)
Boredom (11%)
General anxiety (11%)
Missing big life events (10%)

3: Physical health

– 50% of respondents reported that the pandemic response had a negative impact on their physical health

4: Housing and local environment (includes digital engagement)

– 92% lived with family members and had a mixed experience

5: Education

– 73% of respondents felt that school closures had a negative impact on them
– A digital divide emerged as there was a mixed response on the quality of online learning
– There were also mixed responses in relation to exams, school supports, grade inflation and other educational issues

6: Development

– Limitations to sports and activities largely impacted younger respondents

7: Work and time use

– Respondents overwhelmingly felt they lost a part of their childhood or teenager years due to the pandemic

8: Financial and job security

– 21% of respondents said the pandemic had a negative impact on their financial situation. The group most acutely affected was young adults with 67% of 21 year olds saying the pandemic negatively affected them financially.

9: Civil liberties, human rights and trust

– There was a divided response on whether the pandemic impacted their civil liberties, human rights and trust – 34% said that it had a negative impact, 23% reported no impact and 20% reported positive and negative impacts

COVID-19 and the COVID-19 response had far-reaching impacts for children and young people. Feedback provided included that:

• Non-essential healthcare was suspended leading to delays in diagnoses and treatment.
• Children with disabilities and mental health issues faced a sudden withdrawal of supports and services.
• School closures impacted children, young people and their families – their academic learning, mental health, social connections, access to sport and extracurricular activities.
• Key formative moments were profoundly altered – children and young people missed out on key events such as their first communion, confirmation, leaving primary school sitting State exams, attending their graduation or Debs, or celebrating big birthdays among others mentioned.
• This sense of lost time or missed opportunities profoundly impacted children and young people’s mental health.

To conclude

A further detailed breakdown of findings is available in this presentation.  

The independent COVID-19 Evaluation members would like to thank all the young people who took part in this consultation. These findings are a valuable input into the Evaluation’s work and final report.

To note, the third and final consultation on the pandemic response in long term residential care facilities for older persons is ongoing. A survey for relatives/families of residents (including bereaved relatives), staff, managers and owners, and others directly supporting nursing homes took place in January and February 2026. Over 600 responses were received, and analysis of this data is ongoing and will be published in the coming weeks.

Additionally, the Evaluation also provided related bereaved families with a further opportunity to register their interest for private group listening sessions with the Chair of the COVID-19 Evaluation. These grouped in-person private listening sessions, for those who lost loved ones in long term residential care facilities during the pandemic, will take place over the coming weeks.

This health focused roundtable was livestreamed on 31st March 2026.

This roundtable brought together leading Irish and international experts to examine the health dimensions of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lessons that can be learned for future public health emergencies.

Findings from the COVID-19 Evaluation’s general public consultation

An overview presentation of the public consultation findings is available.

A further detailed analysis paper is available.

In Summer 2025, the independent COVID-19 Evaluation ran a public consultation to give the public and stakeholder groups the opportunity to share their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it was managed.

This general public consultation involved a wide-ranging long and short survey, individual submissions, and submissions from stakeholder organisations. We also invited and received published research from academics.

While the survey and wider submissions do not necessarily represent the whole population, they represent the views of those who chose to share their experiences with the COVID-19 Evaluation.

The surveys covered numerous quality-of-life aspects to better understand how the pandemic impacted different areas or aspects of people’s lives. It was also designed to understand how different groups of people may have been impacted in different ways.

These inputs have allowed the Evaluation to understand how the pandemic affected people in a variety of ways, and to better appreciate the personal impacts on thousands of people.

Insights from the general public consultation on nursing homes and other healthcare settings have also helped inform an additional consultation on long-term residential care facilities for older people.

Survey highlights

The top 3 areas of concern for respondents during the pandemic were:

1. Mental health & wellbeing (47%)
   
2. Relationships, social connections & community (45%)
   
3. Physical health (35%)

(percentages represent the portion of respondents who indicated that dimension was their key area of concern)

Respondents reported the highest proportion of negative impacts on:

• Education and development (from students’ and parents/guardians’ perspectives only – 65% and 61%; respectively.
• Civil liberties, human rights and trust (46%)
• Mental health and wellbeing (44%)
• Work and time use (41%)
• Relationships and connections (40%)

Respondents reported the highest positive impacts on:

• Local area (26%).

When we look at how people’s quality of life was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s stage of life and personal circumstances made a big difference.

• People who found it difficult to make ends meet reported more negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, including on their relationships and mental health.
• People who had very young children also experienced negative impacts, especially single parents, including on their physical health, work and time use and financial situation.
• Age also made a difference, with younger people feeling considerably impacted across many areas, including mental health, education and development and work and time use.
• Carers and people with a disability also reported negative impacts across areas such as mental health and physical health.
• For certain areas, such as civil liberties, human rights and trust, there were strong differences based on gender.

Highlights from the survey open text responses and individual submissions

People raised concerns about different issues, including:

• Public health not just being about infection numbers but also about protecting mental health and wellbeing.
• Increased burden of care due to school and childcare closures, the closure of disability day services and other supports, and the introduction of cocooning.
• Lost time and missing key milestone events, including school graduations, weddings and funerals.
• Societal change and division, including concerns around socially enforced compliance.
• Impacts on healthcare, including delayed diagnoses and treatments.
• COVID-19 healthcare, including vaccines, testing and self-isolation.
• Visiting restrictions in nursing homes, hospitals and maternity hospitals, including the isolation patients felt, the grief people experienced from losing a loved one, and how restrictions negatively affected how people grieved.
• The impacts of school closures on education and the role schools play in protecting and supporting children.
• Developmental and social impacts on babies, children and young people, from missed developmental checks to transitioning from primary to secondary school.
• Risks and challenges for frontline workers, including increased workloads, stress and trauma and a lack of recognition of their work post-pandemic.
• Communications, information, digital engagement and media coverage.
• The extent, design and length of restrictions, and their impact on people’s civil liberties and human rights and trust in Government.

More detail across different areas

Respondents had very mixed experiences across relationships, social connections and their community.

The pandemic had different impacts on respondents’ relationships depending on peoples personal circumstances, for example – if they had caring duties, their age, if they lived alone, if they had lost a loved one, or were a new parent, a separated parent or a grandparent. Some felt they had missed out on key years of their life and big life events, such as their graduation, wedding or a funeral for a loved one.

Some praised the sense of community which came out during COVID-19, while others believed that restrictions caused more conflict and division in society.

Respondents made clear that public health is not just about infection numbers, but also about people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Respondents shared how their mental health was impacted by the pandemic, including the impacts of cocooning on older people, school closures on children and young people; and increased care burden and the withdrawal of supports impacting parent/guardians, carers, new or expectant mothers, and people personally relying on supports, such as those with disabilities.

Many cited the relentless coverage and official communications, such as daily COVID-19 case numbers, as impacting their wellbeing while others felt that mental health supports and services did not meet people’s additional needs during the pandemic.

Respondents’ experiences on general physical health were mixed.

Some had more time to exercise and eat healthier, while others found it hard to exercise as sport facilities were closed, or ate more unhealthily or drank more alcohol. Some older people did less physical activity due to cocooning, reducing their mobility.

‘High-risk’ respondents felt safer and their health improved due to restrictions. However, they noted that they had to change their lives to protect their health, including some retiring, isolating from their families, or having their whole family cocoon.

Healthcare and nursing homes

Respondents described the challenges staff experienced during the pandemic, including keeping up with changing guidelines, early difficulties accessing PPE and COVID-19 tests, understaffing due to COVID-19 outbreaks, and tough working conditions.

Family members described the heartbreak they experienced due to visiting restrictions in nursing homes and hospitals during the pandemic. Many respondents described their loved ones’ distress. They outlined the impacts the extended isolation had on their loved ones and the challenges they experienced in receiving timely information from staff. Respondents shared harrowing accounts of losing loved ones in nursing homes and hospitals. Many residents and patients died alone, and some respondents described how they were not allowed to be with their loved ones in their final moments.

Experiences of housing and local area depended on people’s personal situations.

Some people enjoyed doing up their homes and spending time in their garden. Others described difficult living situations, most often caused by a lack of space or adult children moving home. In towns and cities, respondents did not always have access to green spaces, and parks were often busy. In rural areas, some found it difficult to exercise in safe spaces due to kilometre restrictions.

On digital engagement, many increased their screen time during the pandemic, including children. People used digital devices to stay in touch with loved ones. Some older people used digital devices for the first time, others learned new skills to work from home.

Parents, teachers and students shared their views on school closures, the return to school and the impact of restrictions on children and young people’s development.

Respondents were divided over whether schools should have closed and the length of time they were closed. Many felt that schools were closed for too long, and that the impact of closures on children’s education, social development and mental health was not fully considered.

Teachers detailed how they were not prepared for online learning, and parents described a lack of guidance and support from schools. Teachers also noted a rise in student absences since the pandemic. Respondents also described the stress they or their child experienced in exam years due to delays in decision-making.

People had different experiences on changes to their work and how they spent their time during the pandemic.

Many respondents welcomed the introduction of remote working. They felt it improved their work-life balance and disagreed with the move back to the office after the pandemic. Many people enjoyed the slower pace of life during the pandemic. However, frontline workers described how stress and their workload increased during the pandemic. Healthcare workers described very difficult working conditions.

People also had different experiences on the impact of the pandemic on their financial situation.

Some people saved more money during the pandemic as they could not attend social events, moved out of cities or did not have to commute to work. However, others found it difficult to find work and noted that the cost-of-living increased during and after the pandemic and remains high. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment and business supports helped to protect some respondents from financial difficulties.

On civil liberties, human rights and trust, respondents were very divided on COVID-19 restrictions.

Some people agreed with the pandemic response. They believed that restrictions saved lives and the Government acted on the best available evidence at the time.

Others did not agree with restrictions. They felt that they went against their constitutional rights and that their freedoms were taken away. Others felt that those who did not agree with the approach were silenced by the media or felt forced to get vaccines. Misinformation and disinformation issues were also highlighted.

Respondents criticised certain restrictions including the 2km/5km restrictions, the lifting of restrictions during Christmas 2020, visiting restrictions in health and care sector, and cocooning, which they believed caused older people to become more isolated, fearful and less active.

People felt they lost trust in the Government and democracy. For some this was due to officials not following restrictions, for others it was due to NPHET’s power or they did not believe the pandemic was real. Many respondents noted that they would not follow restrictions if a similar crisis took place in the future.

Consultation findings

An overview presentation of the public consultation findings is available.

A further detailed analysis paper is available.

Members of the Evaluation team would like to thank all individuals and organisations who answered the survey or wrote a submission. These contributions are essential inputs into the work of the Evaluation.

A detailed overview paper that provides more comprehensive content of people’s personal experiences and perspectives will shortly be available on the Evaluation’s website.

The COVID-19 Evaluation team has carried out further consultations for children and young people and on long-term residential care facilities for older persons. The results of these consultations will be available in the coming months.

We have also held roundtable events to hear directly from stakeholders and experts in social and economic policy. We have met with many stakeholders, researchers and experts in bilateral meetings. You can watch the societal roundtable and the economic roundtable.