Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I am afraid I cannot confirm those exact numbers. I do not have them in front of me but they may well be correct. They certainly sound like they are correct. The definition of a household or a bubble, as some countries term it, is not unique to Ireland. Essentially from a public health point of view, someone's household or bubble is the people he or she lives with. It is virtually impossible to maintain a social distance from people we live with. There are many who share a house with others they are not related to, and they are considered the one household. There are many who share a room with somebody they are not related to, and they are considered to be the one household or the one bubble. Because it is not practical to socially distance or isolate oneself from people one lives with, whether in the same house or the same room, such groups are therefore considered to be a household or bubble. There is no change of definition there. It was always the definition and it is just common sense from a public health point of view. It applies whether someone is in direct provision or not. It does not matter what language a person speaks, his or her household is the people he or she lives with. If that person shares a room, that is his or her household or bubble.

On the issue of people who need to be isolated, Citywest is available and people have been isolated there. There is capacity at the site and also a possibility of isolating people in hotels if necessary. I do not have exact figures in front of me. However, I will correspond with Deputy O'Brien and provide the figures to him.

I do not believe that any Member of this House is of the view that direct provision is a good system. I absolutely believe it should be one of the objectives of the next Government to put an end to it. However, that is easier said than done. There is a shortage of accommodation in the State and it is difficult to predict the number of people in any given week, month or year who will come in from overseas and may need accommodation.

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