Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What is clear now is that the Slane centre is closing. The decision has been made. The Meath test centre is moving, I think, to Dunshaughlin or Ashbourne. The Dundalk centre is moving to Ardee. That is what is happening on the ground. The Dundalk centre is moving to an area equidistant from the two big towns of Drogheda and Dundalk, but that means more people will have to travel farther. I accept that the investment is there, that we must follow it through and that there are 37 full-time jobs there. It does not make sense to have a full-time testing centre in east Meath, one in Drogheda, one in Ardee and one in Dundalk. We have to wear the county jersey. I accept that that means the centre will be in Ardee. That is the decision that has been made. I welcome what the Minister of State is saying. He said that as demand increases, referral demand will be reviewed. I believe we will have - we deserve and must have - a pop-up centre in Drogheda, particularly in view of the fact of the closure of the one in Slane.

I congratulate all the HSE staff and officials on the fantastic work they are doing. Together, all of us in the Houses of the Oireachtas, whether Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin or Independent, must work together to fight this disease. It is not about more testing. It is about less Covid and getting rid of Covid from our society.

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