Dr. Tony Holohan:

We will be doing some work on this, as the Deputy knows, but in the interests of time I will focus on the public health aspects. I would be positive about this - and am not suggesting the Deputy's question is otherwise - in the sense that much went well in the stepping up to the plate he referred to. I will pick a couple of examples. We did not have the capacity to do the kind of modelling work we have had and we did not have a plan to create that, even though we had good systems of pandemic preparedness in place. We had to respond on the hoof to try to create that capacity almost overnight. The work Professor Nolan led to develop a capacity with all the best mathematical and analytical brains in the country to put us in a situation to be able to better understand what might happen with the disease is just one of the examples of the stepping up to the plate. A huge amount of that work was done on a voluntary basis, in addition. It was done off the sides of desks by many of these people, whose names are not known at all. They were in mathematics departments and various different places around the country. I offer that one example. For me, it shows when the need arises and the ask is made, people respond. That is one of the really strong characteristics. That esprit de corpswas in evidence right the way through the pandemic. When people got tired, including ourselves as two years has been a long time for everybody, that has very much been the hallmark in this country in the way it has not in others. Of course, there are things that can be improved upon and that will be the trick, that is, as we continue to go forward we improve-----