Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is fair to say many inadequacies in our public health policy are being shown up by Covid-19. The direct provision situation is at the top end of things that must be addressed. I will ask a number of questions and the respondents can come back at the end.

I have two questions for the Department of Justice and Equality. The witness said at the start that all staff have been Garda vetted and Tusla-approved. What training has been undertaken, if any, in terms of understanding the requirements of infection control? Ms McArdle said there are people on site but there is a significant issue around communication and translation, particularly in terms of having something in writing, which I ask the witnesses to look at.

Given what we now know, has the Department or the HSE looked at doing a review or analysis of the asylum process and the length of time it takes for applications to be considered? A "Yes" or "No" answer will suffice. The rate of refusal last year was approximately 67%. The question that first comes to mind is why we have people waiting so long to get an application approved or otherwise. This would seem to feed into the numbers.

In terms of the HSE and isolation rooms for suspect cases, do the witnesses know how these are being dealt with and if isolation is being observed? The evidence is that it is not.

I refer to communal spaces in direct provision centres. Has anybody thought to come up with a rota system so people are not in the same room at the same time using washing and eating facilities? Maybe that is happening, but will somebody give me some information on that?

Approximately 800 applications to the asylum process last year were from people of African descent. A good deal of medical data is building up to say this group of people may be more at risk to the severe outcomes of Covid-19. Has the Department made any efforts to prioritise them and ensure they are first to be removed in the case of a outbreak?