Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Kelly for the questions. I particularly thank him for acknowledging that many of the people on NPHET - I would go so far as to say all of the people on NPHET - are very fine people. They have done an incredible job in helping us save thousands of lives. I know how hard Deputy Kelly works and I know how hard I work. I have seen how incredibly hard these people work. About 20 of them have the word "doctor" in front of their names. They are working flat-out providing public health advice. I am very proud that we live in a country where we have not played party politics with people's health, and Deputy Kelly has not either. We do not need to look very far to see a very different approach being taken.

The National Public Health Emergency Team is chaired by Dr. Tony Holohan, the Chief Medical Officer. He gives public health advice; the Government makes decisions. I want to answer the Deputy's question directly. It is not just a body with the Chief Medical Officer and a few people from the Department. While I am open to correction, I think there are also nine members of the HSE on that. If the HSE wants to put another nine people on it tomorrow, that is also fine; it knows that very clearly. It is a collaborative body where we bring experts from the HSE, the Department of Health, HIQA and the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, together along with a few external people like Dr. Mary Favier, an ICU consultant, to advise Government.

The Deputy is right about the minutes; they should be published. They are now being published. The Deputy would like to see them published quicker, which is also a fair point. They are now being published.

See this speech in context