Ms Emily O'Reilly:

I made a point of instructing my investigators who were dealing with the ECDC to ask it specifically about that. There is a sort of a newsfeed on the ECDC website and in the part relating to March and April of last year, one can see quite clearly what might be called the contradictory advice on that and the speed at which it changed. I suspect that part of the reason the WHO, the ECDC and NPHET at the time were not suggesting that people should wear face masks and, in fact were discouraging them, related to the fear that there would be huge demand and that the supply that was necessary for medical and healthcare workers would be diminished. The ECDC in its response, if I recall correctly, almost agreed with the point that if the authorities had started telling everyone to wear face masks, there would have been a run on them. The Senator might recall that there was a severe lack of them and the EU, and I think Ireland as well, had to seek airlifts of personal protective equipment, PPE, from China.

The issue is interesting in an almost philosophical way. If I knew that face masks were a good idea, surely the WHO and the ECDC did too. Similar to the point I made earlier when talking about politicians and their role in finding that balance of risk, was it riskier to tell everyone to get face masks or to do it the other way? All these matters will be analysed after the fact.

On the Senator's first question, I do not recall that particular issue, although it may just be something that has not yet come across my desk. I will follow up on it for him.