Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The first thing we do when sourcing any equipment is to try to source it from wherever we can. I am very pleased that we were able to secure some international supply chains to get access to personal protective equipment and so on. The Deputy's general point is on the importance of trying to support indigenous industry. This issue has been raised by a number of Deputies in the House. I have spoken to the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation about how we can work together to support Irish businesses in this area and I intend to do so again. We are, however, very grateful to international partners for providing us with that equipment at a time when we could not source it in other places.

See this speech in context