The Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) has called on the new Government to put in place a process for remembrance and reflection in post-Covid-19 Ireland.
The foundation submitted a paper outlining a series of proposals for Ireland to remember and reflect on the pandemic.
This includes a national series of mourning and remembrance events for all who have died since the pandemic started in order to express Ireland’s collective connection with the bereaved and to honour, comfort and support.
Another proposal calls for a reigniting of a national conversation on dying, death and bereavement in Ireland, led by the Government, to be followed by an official process to make recommendations and put them into effect.
Recuperation
Chief Executive of Irish Hospice Foundation, Sharon Foley said: “Although we are not through the pandemic, we must begin to plan for a process of active collective remembrance, reflection and recovery as part of the recuperation in post-Covid-19 Ireland.
“The ongoing response to the crisis continues to challenge us all in how we confront and deal with dying, death and bereavement. Our collective experience over the past number of months has shown us that we can’t afford to turn away from our collective mortality and we need to come together and learn how to face it, head on.”