Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I will make two quick observations relating to my previous contribution. Mr. Reid said he had erred on the side of protecting the public and that is fine; we accept that. However, in the context of purchasing products not cleared for use by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, was he not doing the opposite with substandard ventilators, masks and sanitisers and all of that?

The data to which I referred came from a pivot table outlining details of supplies and suppliers, etc. Is Mr. Reid seriously claiming there was not a column providing the value of those products?

There are currently more than 900,000 people on waiting lists. Back in January 2020, there were 870,000 people on them. Covid did not cause the waiting lists; they were there long before it came along. Does Mr. Reid expect that at this rate, given that referrals were not happening during the pandemic and that we are now coming out of it and everything is opening up again, the total number on waiting lists will exceed 1 million people by December or shortly thereafter?