Mr. Cormac Healy:

We have not been given a clear indication that results will be achievable in 24 hours, let alone 12 hours. I know that there has been public comment that there is capacity to do that. Unfortunately, some of the examples in recent times would not suggest that. It is a priority, especially when we are going into a lot more testing and this will put pressure on the overall system. We await that confirmation. I know the detail is being worked out by the national standing oversight committee. It is something that we have highlighted. Equally, there is the situation of making companies aware of the results at the appropriate point. The individuals will obviously need to be informed but a mechanism needs to be found so that the company knows at some point, particularly if there are positive test results and it needs to take action.

I am not a public health representative or authority. The Deputy asked about asymptomatic cases. I heard a discussion about it earlier. One point that might be made is that where this shows up is where mass testing is done. Perhaps lots of other testing is done in the context of symptoms, but where mass testing is done, one then finds many positives that are asymptomatic. Maybe mass testing is not done elsewhere or is not done at the same level as elsewhere. That is just my view, and it is absolutely not an expert view.