Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome both our guests. I frequently struggle to try to figure out what our national strategy is with Covid-19. There are calls for different approaches and so on, but I assume there is a general approach that is about minimising the rate of the virus. Clearly, the whole test and tracing regime is a key element of that.

We discussed that earlier with representatives of the HSE. In the early months, we spent a long time trying to get the testing and tracing system to capacity. By the time it was at capacity of 100,000 per week, the case numbers were very low. It seems there is now a certain degree of struggling to ramp up testing again to meet the increased numbers. I asked Mr. Paul Reid this morning about the approach that is being taken and why, if there is a capacity of 100,000, the HSE is not using that full capacity for both reactive and proactive testing. He informed me that the HSE's approach to testing is determined by NPHET. Perhaps Dr. Glynn will answer the question as to why it is that NPHET is not seeking to maximise the capacity that is currently there. Intuitively, one would think that is the right step to take.

My second question concerns the availability of data. It is unsatisfactory that we have to keep asking for data, all of which should be open source. I refer in particular to the electoral division figures, that is, the rates per electoral division. NPHET released figures on 12 August and the previous occasion was 12 June, although many of us had to battle to try to get our hands on those figures. Why is NPHET not releasing those figures regularly and in real time, rather than an accumulative figure that causes a great deal of hassle for people trying to work out the current figure and the current rate per electoral division?

My third question relates to travel. I have been tracking the figures that NPHET has been citing in its letters and I have noted the point it has been making about raising alarm bells about the fact that there are significant numbers of travel-related cases relative to those of actual travel cases, which might result in the passing on of the virus to family groups and other settings. NPHET seemed to be ringing loud alarm bells in that regard for a period but in its recent letters, it has made virtually no reference to figures for travel or cases indirectly related to travel. Why is that the case?