Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I echo my colleagues' calls on screening. On the turnaround time for the results to come back, we have heard stories of women having to wait weeks and months on end without any clarification on their tests. This is important when we talk about screening.

I want to remember all of those who lost their lives to Covid-19 and the terrible impact this has on families and friends, including not being able to spend the last hours with loved ones, not being able to say goodbye, and the deep sense of grief of those who cannot celebrate these lives in the usual funeral rituals that are so important to the grieving process in Ireland.

Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on hundreds of families, not least those in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, as the Minister has just heard. The Minister will be aware that Cavan and Monaghan, unfortunately, have had the highest number of cases in the country. Currently, Cavan has 844 cases and Monaghan has 515 cases. Will the Minister explain the reason identified for this? We have seen mapping for Ireland where Cavan really stands head and shoulders above any other county for the very high number of confirmed cases. What has the Government, the Minister and his Department done to support Cavan General Hospital and the Monaghan Hospital, which are on the front line firefighting these cases? How is the Minister assisting them in dealing with this high number of cases? Will he indicate where the clusters are occurring and reoccurring? Is it the meat factories or is it family clusters? We heard Dr. Illona Duffy speak about this yesterday. There are questions over this but I am sure the Minister, his Department, and his team may have possibly identified that. What is the Minister doing to suppress the spread? Are extra resources being put in place for testing and tracing to stop the spread? I would like to hear the Minister's response on that.

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