Dr. Ronan Glynn:

I thank the Chair and members of the committee. The public health response to Covid-19 to date has been guided by public health data and expertise and international best practice, and has been underpinned by ethical principles, including the minimisation of harm, proportionality, solidarity, fairness and privacy. The central focus of our response has been to control the spread of the virus in so far as possible to protect those who are most vulnerable from infection, as well as protecting against causes, situations, circumstances and behaviours that can lead to the spread of Covid-19.

In the absence of a vaccine or treatment at present, the key to controlling Covid-19 is to adopt a proportionate, dynamic and stepwise response tailored to the evolving epidemiological situation and the wider public health and health service context. The foundation underpinning this approach has been the wide acceptance of, and buy-in to, the basic but essential public health protective measures, including hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, social distancing, avoidance of crowds and the use of face coverings, where appropriate, by the Irish public. People in Ireland have shown that they are willing to follow public health advice to protect themselves and others. We have seen tremendous solidarity and co-operation across society and across sectors in response to this pandemic.

It has now been nearly eight months since the world first became aware of this new coronavirus. Worldwide, there have been more than 23 million cases, and 810,000 people have sadly died as a result of this virus. In Europe, while the situation had stabilised in early summer, many countries are now seeing an increase in cases and have had to reintroduce public health measures.

Here, our own public health approach proved effective and by 24 June our five-day average was just six new cases per day. However, since the beginning of July there has been a gradual change in our epidemiological situation, and by the end of July a large number of cases emerged rapidly in Kildare, Laois and Offaly. These cases were initially predominantly linked to several large clusters in food processing plants in the region. There were also several linked clusters in direct provision centres.

As the committee is aware, NPHET was monitoring the situation in that region closely and made related recommendations on 30 July and 4 and 6 August regarding the protection of vulnerable groups living in congregated settings; the mitigation of risk in high-risk workplaces; and the continued enhancement and strengthening of the public health, testing and contact-tracing functions in the HSE. On 7 August, NPHET recommended to the Government that a series of enhanced public health measures should be introduced in the three counties for a two-week period to bring the situation under control and prevent widespread transmission.

The NPHET reviewed the situation on 20 August and advised the Government that the position in Laois and Offaly had improved and the measures did not need to be extended. The situation in Kildare was different. While there was a certain level of stabilisation, a high number of cases continued to be reported daily, with cases widely distributed across the county and with incidence rates at several multiples of the national average. Several facilities were still undergoing mass testing as a result of recent cases and there was evidence of some increasing community transmission in the county. For that reason, NPHET recommended that the measures in Kildare should be extended until 6 September.

Separately, on 17 August, NPHET considered the deteriorating epidemiological situation across the country and recommended several public health measures to apply nationwide until 13 September to mitigate against any further increase in cases.

I am fully aware of how disappointing and frustrating recent events have been. As a country, we have demonstrated so much resilience, solidarity and resolve throughout this pandemic. We have set aside our plans and put our lives on hold for many months to suppress this virus. As a society, we have done that incredibly effectively. Although we have taken a step backwards, this is not irreversible. With the continued support and collective effort of people in Ireland, we can stop the rise in cases and protect what must be our three priorities in the coming months: the protection of the most vulnerable in society, the resumption of healthcare services and the return to education for children and young people.

This is a marathon and I know people are tired. I acknowledge the enormous and ongoing effort and sacrifice by people in Ireland to help protect each other during this pandemic and I ask them to continue to stay the course with us. By continuing to work together, by building on the individual and collective action which has characterised our response to date and by supporting each other, we will navigate our way together through the months ahead.