Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I wish the witnesses a good morning and thank them for their attendance. I apologise, as I am competing against this bell. There is nothing I can do about it.

Two years ago, we were in the throes of a general election and the vast majority of people in the State had probably never heard of Covid. Obviously, we got to know Covid very well over the past two years. It has left a huge mark on this country and issues that will probably take a long time to heal. It has been a very traumatic two years for many people. Hopefully, things are looking brighter than they have been in the past two years. Looking at the figures of the people who died of Covid, they are staggering. Some 10,000 people on the island of Ireland, nearly 1 million people in the US alone, and 6 million people worldwide - and counting - have died of Covid.

It is incredible how many people this awful disease has killed. It is not over by any means, but certainly in recent weeks there has been a sea change in people's thinking regarding us being over the worst of the pandemic for now. We must, however, be cautious and adhere to the guidelines.

Turning to another issue, already touched on by Deputy Cullinane, I wish to ask Dr. Holohan about something that struck me when he was making his statement. Perhaps he cannot comment on this aspect, but I ask him to take his doctor's hat off, and, looking back over the past two years, tell us what NPHET could have done differently during the pandemic.