Ms Oonagh Buckley:

We have been very reliant on the HSE and it has done a great amount of work with us and for us in helping us manage the population. As Dr. Kelleher has said, that has thankfully led to a situation where we have not had a single serious case of Covid-19 in our centres so far and long may that remain the case.

One of the lessons that we have learned is that before the pandemic, health services were provided to residents of the centres in the same way as they were provided to all the citizens of this country. Asylum seekers get a medical card and access GP services in that way. We are reliant on national advice from the national social inclusion office. That system is perfectly adequate for normal health needs of residents in normal times, possibly with the exception of mental health, but as our population is reasonably young and healthy, it is probably not enough at this time. I have written to the HSE, and to a colleague of Ms McArdle's, requesting that it review the types of supports that it offers to vulnerable persons, including to direct provision centres, at this time, whether on a national or regional basis. That is certainly a lesson that we have learned.