Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Anybody tuning into the press conference this morning expecting to get clarity and coherent advice will have been bitterly disappointed. The press conference today brought a Government message that was confused and extremely confusing to the public. The new plan was supposed to provide clarity about the five levels of risk, yet on the first day of the announcement, the Government decided to muddy the waters by talking about level two and a bit. People wanted direction and political leadership. People are worried and concerned about the rising rate of the virus and they want clear advice and coherence from the Government. They certainly did not get that this morning. In the two areas for which the Government has direct responsibility, it was found to be seriously wanting. The first of those is the principal part the Government should be playing in the fight against Covid-19, namely, putting in place a timely and effective testing and tracing system.

The Government has known this from the start, and at no point has it got to the stage where we had an effective system that was able to turn around testing and tracing in a timely manner at the level required. We heard just last week that the HSE is in the process of recruiting 700 staff. The Minister for Health stated this morning that thousands of staff will be recruited at some point in the future. The Government has not done its part of the deal by getting the testing and tracing in place, and the public cannot do anything about that. It is the Government's responsibility.

The second area the Government ignored completely this morning is that of international travel. It has effectively parked that, waiting to hear from the EU, until the middle of October. In the meantime, is anyone in charge of international travel? Judging by the figures, it seems that nobody is.

What are the specific criteria for categorising counties as being in one of the five levels? Additionally, what are the specific criteria for counties moving from one level to another? I refer to specifics such as the rate of the virus, the rate of increase and so on.

What does it mean to be at level 2.5, or level 2 and a bit? Where can the public in Dublin, who desperately want to play their part in tackling the virus now because it is at such dangerous levels, get information on what being at level 2.5 means? It is not on the Government website and it was not provided this morning. Where can they find out the new regulations that apply in Dublin?

In respect of the rates in Dublin, why is the Government treating Dublin as one homogenous area? The rates in Dublin vary from 42 to 131 per 100,000. There is a strong case for localised data on an electoral division basis weekly or at least fortnightly. Why will the Government not provide those data and enable people to play their part in working together as neighbourhoods in fighting this virus?

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