Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It must be calamitous to think that on a daily basis one has all these other member states phoning in about vaccinations, and looking for advice, figures and statistics yet only 300 staff to deal with that, to think that Europe-wide more was spent last year on a space exploration programme than on co-ordinating the European-wide effort, and that the centre is an 18-year old entity. Considering that NPHET for Covid-19 was only set up on 27 January 2020, it has done a hell of a lot of good work in that time. However, it seems unforgivable that an entity set up following the first outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, in 2002 or 2003 has years later, in this instance, proven unfit for purpose.

This morning, the Taoiseach spoke at the National Tourism and Hospitality Expo. When the media questioned him about the reopening of various sectors he clearly hinted that there will, hopefully, be a reopening of bed and breakfast accommodation, guesthouses and hotels in the June period. Everyone now wonders how NPHET views bars and restaurants. When Dr. Glynn answers he might also tell us the logic behind NPHET's differentiation between a gastropub that serves food versus a wet pub. I understand what is served by both types of pub is rather different but in a health context how do they differ? I ask because it is a question that we have been asked repeatedly and one for which we do not have a good answer.