Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor Nolan and Dr. De Gascun. A number of Deputies have referred to crushing the curve and the 1,000 academics from the science community who put forward a compelling argument to look at going the distance and eliminating the virus from the community. Given that we are an island, they make a very compelling case and we have seen the progress made in New Zealand. I propose that we might invite some representatives from that group to the committee to tease out these issues further and see where we could make progress. It is worth debating further.

Testing plays a fundamental role in how we exit restrictions and effectively crush the virus on the island. My first question, for both Professor Nolan and Dr. De Gascun, relates to timelines for testing. We need clear and deliverable timelines on testing, and to go from the emergence of symptoms to swabbing, testing, tracing and contact quarantine within 72 hours when at capacity. I ask the witnesses to comment on the current state of testing within the country.