Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste is often mistaken for the Taoiseach so I suppose it all balances out. I thank Professor Ferguson for joining us this afternoon. There are a number of very compelling benefits and arguments to rapid antigen testing. First, the cost factor. It is approximately €5 per antigen test versus a huge variance of anywhere from €30 in North Macedonia, to approximately €150 in Dublin Airport at the moment, for a PCR test. There is a huge price variance. The speed at which results come back is also an issue. All of that has to be juxtaposed with the accuracy of the testing that is coming back.

Over the last number of weeks, I have looked in depth at the digital green certificate. When this was first mooted, many people expected it would absolutely nail down that PCR tests were the only method of certification. When the technical specification was issued last week, lo and behold, it mentioned certification of antigen testing. It paves the way in the months ahead, as aviation gets back to some normality, that it will not always be just PCR testing. There is some space in the room for rapid antigen testing and that needs to be looked at.

I come to Professor Ferguson with a proposal to see what he would think of it. Perhaps our committee could then take action on it. There is obviously a space here at the moment, with five or six lead-in weeks before the digital green certificate is operational throughout the EU. Right now, each member state is working pretty much off its own rules, for better or worse. A logical way of trialling this could be to pick one route in and out of Ireland with very few passengers, maybe a dozen or two dozen, where it is known who is on the aeroplane. To entice passengers, they would not have to get a PCR test; they would be antigen tested and we will see how that would go. The route could be Heathrow to Dublin as we unfortunately do not have Shannon routes at the moment, but it would be an in and out service. That could be trialled over these few weeks until we have a European-wide regime. What does Professor Ferguson think of that as a pathway to getting some normality back to aviation without breaking the bank for the passenger?