Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Reid very much. Mr. Breslin said in his opening statement: "The deaths in our nursing homes are the most difficult aspect of our national experience, and each person who has died is deeply mourned by his or her family and all of us collectively." We all agree with that. He also complimented the significant effort of staff in nursing homes. It does not matter to me whether nursing homes are public or private. During a pandemic what must be uppermost is the care of the patient. We compliment the staff on the work that was done. I have been calling for more than a month for more frequent testing for nursing homes, and I am pleased that the go-ahead for the testing of staff is to begin next week. Why are patients not also being tested at this time? Have we not learnt at this stage? Why was the decision taken to test staff only and what is the scientific evidence to support it? Those questions are for Mr. Breslin.