Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----public health officials have in regard to this. We have got to deal with it.

The Minister for Health asked HIQA to assess the new testing technologies from a technological perspective. That assessment has been completed and it will be presented to him shortly. Obviously, the Minister for Transport is examining this. There has been a series of multidepartmental meetings on the question of what additional measures we will require if we opt into the European framework.

The oversight committee, chaired by the Secretary General of my Department, met this morning with a view to having stronger enforcement of level 3 restrictions. We are particularly concerned about Northern Ireland. People talk about red zones and so on but Northern Ireland now faces a significant challenge owing to its very high numbers. Clearly, an overspill into the Republic could have consequences so we have to deal with that also. Therefore, the oversight group met this morning. We are considering fines, for example, in terms of traffic and so on.

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