Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas as an deis labhairt ar an ábhar fíor-thábhachtach seo.

It is right that this House should be sitting tonight to discuss the coronavirus. It is a pity that we did not sit in the past number of days as many communities in our country lay beneath flood waters. As is well documented, there are four confirmed cases of the coronavirus in north County Clare. The health and welfare of the affected family is topmost of my concerns.

The HSE has chosen, quite similar to last week's confirmed case in Dublin, to anonymise the names of the affected family and the part of Clare from which they hail, but with most people now on various social media platforms, there is no effective anonymity. Overnight three separate schools in Clare texted parents to announce that, on precautionary grounds, they would not open today. I know of a number of businesses in Ennis and beyond who have instructed workers to stay at home until more is known. These closures are fine in the short term but not sustainable on a long-term basis. The people need confidence and supply at the moment of a very different type. They need to have confidence that the Minister for Health and the HSE will lead from the front in the containment of the coronavirus and they need a supply of accurate information. In the absence of accurate information, people have turned to social media news feeds that are riddled with mistruths and misinformation, all of which gives rise to levels of hysteria that will no do the country any good. The public advice needs to be a bit better than to talk to one's GP, to the HSE and to wash one's hands well. We need to have far more capacity to contact trace those who have been infected with the coronavirus.

Perhaps the Minister could consider assigning a team of workers in each local authority area to help the HSE in this regard.

Business owners and schools also need assurances that suspected cases of coronavirus can be ruled in or out as the case may be. All of this can only happen through scientific testing. I implore the Minister and all the staff in his Department and that of the Minister, Deputy Harris, to better resource the screening and contact tracing systems that have been put in place.

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