Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As colleagues will be aware, on Monday the Government made the decision that the entire country should move to level 3 of the Covid framework plan. This came into effect at midnight on Tuesday for three weeks. The decision was not made lightly. I am acutely aware of the costs of these decisions to individuals, families, communities and businesses.

The level 3 measures in place are the same as those in place in Donegal and very similar to those put in place in Kildare, Laois and Offaly in August. I will now outline the measures under level 3 of the framework. People may meet up with no more than six others from one other household. A maximum of 25 guests are allowed at weddings. There are to be no indoor organised events although gatherings of up to 15 for outdoor events are allowed. Groups of up to 15 may engage in outdoor non-contact training and individual training is allowed indoors. No matches or other sporting events may be held with the exception of professional, elite and intercounty sports, club championships and horse racing. All must be held behind closed doors. Individual training in gyms, pools and leisure centres is allowed.

Religious services are to move online and up to 25 people may attend at a funeral. There is to be no indoor dining or service in restaurants or pubs while up to 15 may be served outdoors. The one exception to this is wet pubs in Dublin, which are to remain closed. Hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfast accommodation must limit services to residents. Indoor cultural venues are closed.

People should attend work only if absolutely necessary and work from home where possible. People should stay within their own counties except for work, education and other essential purposes. Public transport should only be used when necessary. Schools, colleges and childcare facilities are to remain open. Healthcare facilities also remain open. Visiting in care homes is suspended except in critical and compassionate circumstances.

These are difficult measures to follow. For a number of weeks in August, the people of Kildare, Laois and Offaly lived with a set of measures very similar to those under level 3. This was not easy but because of their work, commitment, solidarity and determination, Covid-19 was pushed right back down in these counties. The people of Donegal and Dublin have been living with level 3 measures for several weeks and they too will attest to these measures being difficult. It is too early for the measures to have reduced the number of identified positive cases in Donegal but we are seeing an impact in Dublin, where the growth rate of cases has been brought right down.

The Government and agencies across the State are acting in many other ways in response to Covid as well. Additional funding has been sanctioned for An Garda Síochána to support enforcement. Testing and tracing is being further strengthened. Additional technologies, including antigen testing, are being examined. Remote learning is being increased for higher education. Additional business supports have been introduced and additional funding for nursing homes has been sanctioned. We have a launched a €600 million winter plan to help protect patients and our health services. This plan includes funding for approximately 900 hospital or acute beds, 500 sub-acute beds, 5 million home care hours and much more.

We are doubling the public health workforce. The Government has followed much of the advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, including the framework itself, the recommendations for additional enforcement, the recommendations for additional inspections and communications and, indeed, the recommendation to increase nationally from the level we were at. Colleagues will be aware that while the Government decided to move to level 3, NPHET recommended moving to level 5.

Correspondence from and public statements by most political parties are in line with the decision by the Government not to move to level 5 from midnight on Monday last. The Government believed that the conditions in the framework for moving to level 5 had not all been met. Three days earlier, which was the Thursday, NPHET had met and advised the Government to keep Dublin and Donegal at level 3, and the rest of the country at level 2.

The HSE confirmed to the Government that it has sufficient capacity to manage existing cases of Covid-19 and it is not projecting any immediate difficulties in this respect. The Government would also like to see more detail on options for the end of a four-week period at level 5. In its decision, the Government considered the health, social and economic consequences of a move to level 5 at this time. We noted that Israel is the only country currently following such a strategy. We concluded that the best way forward was to follow the advice from NPHET on enforcement, communications, and increasing nationally the framework level, and to do so at level 3 rather than level 5.

Countries across Europe are seeing an increase in cases, and these countries are also taking action. Ireland is currently mid-table in Europe. European countries with higher rates include Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Denmark. As colleagues will be aware, cases are rising fast in Northern Ireland. We are in communication at official and political levels on how best to co-ordinate our responses on the island of Ireland.

There has been discussion today about the chronology of events over the weekend. I received a text message around lunchtime on Saturday from the Chief Medical Officer, CMO, to say he had called a meeting of NPHET for the following day. I texted the Taoiseach to let him know. Early Sunday morning, I texted the CMO requesting a call before NPHET met. On the back of that, the CMO and I spoke. We discussed the current situation and the possibility of moving to level 4. I conveyed my belief that it was important that NPHET adhere to the parameters set out in the framework for each level. I contacted the Taoiseach afterwards. Around 7 p.m., I took part in a video call with the CMO, the deputy CMO and the Secretary General. That is when I was informed of NPHET's recommendation to move to level 5. I updated the Taoiseach after that call. A Cabinet Covid-19 committee was convened for noon the following day, and the Cabinet also met later on that Monday.

I would like to provide my colleagues with an update on the epidemiology. As of today, the 14-day prevalence rate per 100,000 of the population is 128. Just two weeks ago, it was 76. Counties with the highest rates now are Donegal at 319, Monaghan at 257, Clare at 183, Longford at 169 and Roscommon at 166. A total of 506 cases were notified today, with 35% coming from a close contact of a confirmed case. A total of 492 new clusters were notified in the past week, to 3 October. The latest estimate, calculated yesterday, for the R-nought number is 1.2. It is important to note that regardless of what level Ireland had moved to this week, case numbers and hospitalisations would continue to rise for several weeks. This is because it takes several weeks for the measures to impact on confirmed cases and hospitalisations.

We now have the opportunity to arrest the spread of Covid-19 throughout our country. This means all of us must follow the measures in the framework. It means following the basics of hand washing, face coverings and social distancing. It means reducing our contacts. Earlier this year, we flattened the curve right across Ireland. In August, the people of Kildare, Laois and Offaly did the same. Right now, people in Dublin and Donegal are working hard to do it again. Our request is that, once more, we all step up, we all follow the measures, and we suppress this virus. I believe that, once again, we will be more than up to the challenge.

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