Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry to have to dip in and out of the meeting, such is the nature of Covid-19. Mr. Philips referred to the liquidity ask with regard to Dublin and Cork Airports. I ask the same question of Ms Considine.

I want to also ask about the risks associated with flying. Earlier we discussed the argument that the risk is minimal. I believe it is a question of managing the risk. There is far greater opportunity in having a frank conversation on it and saying there are risks associated with it. That is why we have quarantines. It is about managing those risks. It is far better to be tested negative getting onto the plane than a one in 27 million chance of getting Covid while on the plane. This stresses the need for testing. How quickly could we deliver testing at the airport if we decided today that it was going to happen and if we decided on a methodology, perhaps PCR now and then moving to rapid antigen testing when people are satisfied that this is sufficient? On the threshold of greater than 80% clinical sensitivity, I would make the point that there are many rapid antigen tests that meet this bar while sometimes PCR tests do not meet the bar. This is what we are dealing with. If these measures were to be implemented how quickly could testing be done at airports? Will Ms Considine also comment on the liquidity demands of Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports?