Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Fitzpatrick for the questions. My own leader, the Taoiseach, will be watching on the monitor to make sure I am not negotiating arrangements with Independents. That is certainly above my pay grade.

I take very seriously the issues raised by the Deputy. We got much work done on investment in the healthcare services in Louth. I recall visiting Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital with Deputy Fitzpatrick when I was first appointed as the Minister for Health. I remember it as a very overcrowded hospital. We have seen significant improvements there with regard to much additional bed capacity and a really good management team and staff, to whom I pay tribute. I also visited the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk with the Deputy. I was struck by the dedication, especially to the rehabilitation work that goes on there, and in respect of the Deputy's campaign on the minor injury unit age-appropriate usage, which we were able to reduce to the age of five. It is a brilliant hospital. The policy is to make all hospitals able to provide the full range of services that are appropriate for it. As the Deputy already pointed out, the Drogheda and Dundalk hospitals have been working together during this pandemic. It is about identifying what more hospitals such as the Louth County Hospital can do, and to invest in them to do that. I am more than happy to talk about that in more detail at some time.

I will write to the Deputy on the Dealgan nursing home. I understand HIQA was due to carry out an inspection there. I had said I was going to await the outcome of the HIQA report to decide what further actions are needed. I know it has been a very difficult and traumatic time for people with regard to the Dealgan nursing home. I will keep in touch with the Deputy on that.

Deputy Fitzpatrick raised the issue of testing and tracing. Significant progress is being made. We now see that in some 90% of cases the turnaround time from referral to completion of contact tracing is three days or less. I recognise the HSE's hard work to achieve the target it set itself in its testing and tracing roadmap, which was published last month. Encouragingly, we now see a positivity rate of only 0.8%. This means that almost 99% of people who have had a test are negative. This is a good sign. On Monday of this week, a zero prevalence study commenced in Ireland using the antibody testing. This study will measure the exposure to Covid-19 infection in a representative sample of the population in Dublin, where we have seen a high level of cases, and in Sligo where we have seen a low level of cases. We expect initial results from this study in late August. This will provide us with an overall national estimate of infection in the Irish population. NPHET has recommended that all healthcare workers in nursing homes be tested weekly for the next four weeks. All close contacts are now being tested and negative results are delivered by text message. The median and average number of close contacts per case over April and May has been very steady also. I am satisfied there is capacity now in place to do 15,000 tests a day. There has been good progress, but it is an area that requires constant vigilance.

On the 2 m versus 1 m distance, the clear view is that 2 m is safer than 1 m. The public health advice we follow is the 2 m rule. I heard the WHO representative, through video link in this Chamber, saying that 2 m is safer than 1 m. I have also made the point that we will need to provide bespoke solutions for some sectors, for example, 2 m and 1 m was not going to work in childcare. I have said very clearly that we need to get our kids back to school. We need a bespoke solution to reopen our schools that is safe and grounded in public health advice. The Deputy will be aware that we have also had the discussion about new guidance being drawn up for the hospitality sector.

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