Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

If we want to build a proper one-tier national health service, then we will need a lot more staff.

I have another question which is topical. It is good that the advice of the Government and NPHET has become pro-face masks.

It was unnecessarily delayed and confused but now it is pro-face masks and I welcome that. The 41% figure is, empirically from our own experience, very high relative to reality. We are far from that. A recent report, which will be welcomed by the transport workers' unions, states that making face coverings mandatory on public transport will be discussed at Cabinet tomorrow. In that case, the drivers cannot be made responsible for enforcing it. It points to the need for extra staff, otherwise one is putting drivers in potential conflict situations, which has arisen in Britain already as something to be considered.

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