Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the representatives from the HSA, HSE and Congress for their submissions and for participating in the hearings today. I very much support the Bill. The INMO, Congress, SIPTU and others made clear last year their express desire for this amending legislation and they indicated there is a serious deficiency with regard to the reporting legislation. I have three specific questions. The first is for the representatives from the HSE. I want to understand better what happens when there is a report of Covid-19. What are the criteria for deciding to assess the sequencing of the genes where there is a presentation with Covid-19? It was stated it is sometimes possible to link a healthcare worker infection with the workplace with great confidence based on the sequencing of the genes. In what cases does this happen? Does it happen for all workplace outbreaks? Does it happen for outbreaks in the community? Are there set criteria?

My next question is specifically for the representatives from the HSE. Is the reluctance on the part of the HSE with regard to this Bill related to the resources required to undertake the additional work on gene sequencing of the virus?