Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank both gentlemen for being here before us today. It is important for questions that the public has and for which we need to have answers.

On testing, many samples have been sent to Germany at a massive cost. I understand a new plane was required to fly them in and out of the country. I have spoken to labs here about testing that could have been done in Ireland. Animal Health Laboratories Limited is testing for Covid-19. Tests go into the lab in the morning and the results come back in the evening. This company felt that if it had a few more resources, it could have done anything up to 5,000 plus tests a week. While it has been considered by private hospitals, it has not been considered by the HSE. Why did we go to the massive expense of flying our samples to Germany, waiting up to three weeks? I have had cancer patients contacting me who cannot have cancer treatment because they are waiting three weeks for results. We find out that this kind of test could have been done in Ireland and created jobs locally. It could be looked at going forward.

I am not trying to point fingers here because the witnesses have done some tremendous work and I do not want to be seen to be critical in any way. However, that is the point that I would really appreciate an answer on. The HSE has taken over the 19 private hospitals at a cost of €115 million per month. It is completely understandable that a deal had to be done initially to secure capacity in respect of Covid-19. No one knew where this would go initially and the HSE had to do so, but the light switch for medical care for all other patients has been turned off. There are now 2.2 million citizens with private healthcare who will have had no option but to join the public waiting list as of 30 April. The National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, recorded 770,000 people in hospitals and clinics. Other countries have had to do something similar and they have reverted. I am asking the same thing. Are we considering the gradual reopening of private hospitals to people with private health insurance? It is important and there is fierce worry out there that people with serious health issues need to be seen. They are paying for private healthcare but that is not available at the present.

Did the HSE, in its consultations, remove elderly and sick people from hospitals and put them into nursing homes and community hospitals without testing them? There are other questions but I would prefer to have those answered.