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

I welcome Mr. Daly and Mr. Taylor who are giving evidence today.

It has been a very difficult time, especially for those who have lost loved ones in nursing homes. I pay tribute to the staff in nursing homes who have worked incredibly hard. I know of their hard work because I contacted many nursing homes in west Cork, such as Cramers Court in Belgooly, CareChoice Clonakilty, Bushmount Nursing Home, Skibbereen Residential Care Centre, Fairfield Nursing Home in Drimoleague and Deerpark House Nursing Home in Bantry. Each of them has gone through a difficult time. Thankfully, the number of cases of Covid in west Cork has been very low, which is a blessing in its own right. However, there are questions that need to be asked and I must address them as quickly as possible in the time I have. Most of them will be for Mr. Daly.

Was a strategy in place to test patients who were moved from hospitals to nursing homes in order to free up acute hospital beds? If there was such a strategy, what percentage of those patients were tested and moved only on the basis of a negative result?