Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is obviously potential there for people to defraud that test if they are presenting their laminar flow or whatever it is that they are required to bring in to show the result they got.

It would be like bringing a pregnancy test kit to show somebody the stripes on it. Effectively, that is what is being addressed by the diagnostic test kits to which reference has been made. That is essentially how they work. Unless, of course, the Department has another one I do not know about, which it may have. I am not an expert but I know a little bit about it. Having said that, the most important thing the Department needs to flag is whether this is what is being proposed, and, if so, that it is proposed and gets done because we need to take action in respect of foreign travel, particularly from the US, South America and other places that are not on the green list.

We heard from the aviation sector this morning. It has more or less been established that it is assumed people getting on flights do not have Covid but for those who are asymptomatic, the transmission rate appears to be very low because of the negative air pressure in the cabin, recirculation and the high efficiency particulate air, HEPA, filters. We can assume that we are saying it is safe for people to be beside each other for six hours wearing masks.

The question then is why we are not doing this for the taxi sector. Why are we not making masks mandatory? I heard a previous contributor state that taxi drivers can ask people to put on masks. I remind the committee that a couple of weeks ago a bus driver was kicked to death in France by two people full of alcohol because he asked them to wear masks getting on a bus. It is not operationally possible for many people going back out to drive taxis, particularly those earning very little money, to start asking customers to wear masks. The first thing a customer might say is that he or she does not have one. In such circumstances, taxi drivers will have to supply masks at their own expense. Even then, customers may not wear them. It would be far better if the Department took a leadership role on this matter. The witnesses will say that the medical advisers, NPHET and everybody else have not come to them and stated that it is a good idea. We need to look at what is going on in other countries. Those responsible for providing leadership within the Department are in a position to make a strong recommendation to the effect that the wearing of masks in taxis should be mandatory. Is this a reasonable assertion?