Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Reid and his colleagues and thank them all for the work they are doing. I have four questions, the first of which is on the fact that we are now thankfully at a point this week where we understand there is a capacity to test and trace 100,000 cases per week. What does Mr. Reid believe is the main challenge to not achieving that figure in the event that the demand arises for that number?

What might prevent that being reached? Specifically, can Mr. Reid comment on the reliability of the source of the reagents?

Second, regarding the data the HSE is producing, it is quite frustrating and does not help confidence when we do not get regular data updates. I ask him to commit to publishing the number of tests undertaken on a daily basis, with a breakdown of where those cases are, whether in the community, congregated settings, among healthcare workers, and so on. It would be helpful and would help bring the public along if the HSE did that.

My third question relates to the comment Mr. Reid made a few weeks ago when he stated that we would need to spend approximately €1 billion per year on PPE. That is a vast sum which has huge implications for the health budget and the economy in general. To what extent has he, or anyone else at any level in the HSE, given consideration to sourcing that PPE in Ireland? That would entail setting up a whole new manufacturing operation, but surely given the scale of the cost involved, it would make sense to do that. Have any moves been made in that regard?

My final question relates to high-risk groups such as older people, those with certain conditions, people in congregated settings, meat packers and construction workers, for example. What system is in place to identify those high-risk groups and respond accordingly? We all accept there were unfortunate delays in respect of nursing home residents, but how can we ensure we do not have similar delays in tackling other high-risk groups?