Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

What we do not want a statement to be made and then further questions to be asked. Let us put this issue to bed. I presume the Minister for Health will be coming into the Dáil to make that statement.

The public can only do so much. We hear senior people in the public health system saying that a system that is vital to dealing with this virus is close to collapse. What is being done about that? Can the Tánaiste give an assurance that the resources required will be put in place? If we do not shut down this virus, we will shut down the economy. The virus and the economy cannot coexist. That seems to be self-evident. The Tánaiste himself made great play of this in March, and rightly so, when he said tracing was to be a central part of the strategy. It must be meaningful, however. It is not just down to the public. I encourage people to reduce the number of their social contacts, but the State has a responsibility in this area as well.

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