Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak about another situation that gives mixed messages. I compliment the community in Golden, in my county, where an incident broke out two weeks ago in Walsh Mushrooms. I got a phone call from Kate Killeen of the HSE, whom I thank and who kept me informed. The Army, the Garda, the Ambulance Service and everybody else rolled in and did the testing on a parish site. This can be contrasted with the rumours abounding about a plant in Cahir for weeks, finally admitted last week, and then testing being done privately. Now Mr. Reid has just told another Deputy that the tests are being paid for by the HSE. We could get no information on this, and there was no phone call from the HSE. It had no information. We could get no information yesterday or all weekend on the number of tests. A number of shops, including excellent ones in our wonderful town of Cahir, had to issue statements to deny rumours of incidents on their premises. There were huge mixed messages, and the treatment of a community in Tipperary was different from that of a big business there. We value those businesses, but the question is of special treatment, and now we find that the HSE is paying for the tests anyway. Was there control over those tests? How come we could not get the answers until very late?

I wish to ask briefly about St. Brigid's in Carrick-on-Suir, a wonderful community hospital that was taken over to deal with Covid. When will it go back to its former use? There are three hospice beds there for elderly people and people in their last days. They need those beds. They are not being used. I would like a definite date for when it will go back to its former use.

Why were the meetings ceased? At the start of this outbreak we all, party and group leaders, were briefed once a week by the HSE. We have not had a meeting for two months. Why the secrecy, and why are we not being engaged with? We are expected to support the HSE in all the work it does, and we have done so, but we need a quid pro quo. We have to have information.