Dr. Orlaigh Quinn:

The audit will examine that and give us conclusions, and we then have to examine all of that, if there are negative findings. There are obviously procedures available to us, if need be.

To turn to the Health and Safety Authority, the Deputy asked specifically in the context of Covid and more broadly. In Covid, the HSA initially started off with a relatively small staff and we needed to expand the inspectorate for Covid. The HSA took on the lead role in co-ordinating other resources. We now have inspectorates working collectively from the Workplace Relations Commission, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Education and any of the Government agencies that have an inspectorate. The environmental health officer is very important. In total, there are about 700 inspectors now working on the protocol as part of their normal inspection duties.

For the HSA, more than 15,000 investigations and inspections were carried out but, overall, there were in the region of 50,000 inspections of Covid compliance. It is a huge task. In the context more recently of the reopening of the night sector, they have been out at 11 p.m., 12 midnight and 1 a.m. doing inspections, so both the number and the time at which they inspect has changed.