Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 16 September 2021

Public Accounts Committee

Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE

9:30 am

Ms Anne O'Connor:

It has been nearly full at times. To break it down, the average would be just over 100. As of now, we have 98 people in the self-isolation facility which accommodates healthcare workers and people who test positive and who cannot isolate at home. The majority of the people there today are people who are self-isolating; 73 people just need the facility for isolation and then there are healthcare workers. The number has declined. It has ebbed and flowed in line with the surges and it has been extremely busy at times. Again, depending on the level of illness that exists, it sometimes functions as a real healthcare facility in terms of providing care. We would be absolutely lost without it, given what it has provided in respect of isolation. Critically, however, it is one of our busiest testing and vaccination centres as well.