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

It is not unfair to say that we are heading into the second lockdown because we have lost control of the virus. Last night, as has been said, we heard through The Irish Times what happens when the system of contact tracing is underresourced and cannot cope. More than 2,000 people who tested positive at the weekend are being asked to carry out do-it-yourself contact tracing. If each of those people had just five contacts, which is a modest number, that adds up to more than 10,000 people who are possibly circulating in the community completely unaware that they are at risk.

NPHET held an unscheduled meeting on 4 October, so concerned was it with the escalation of the virus. It recommended moving from level 2 to level 5 for a period of four weeks. A day or two later, as has already been noted, a leading public health specialist took to the airways to warn of the regional departments of public health no longer being able to cope. I raised this matter with the Tánaiste in the same week. The specialist warned that the regional health system was as close to collapse as it had been at any time previously. We were told about the urgency of getting staff in place, and her fear that it would be the new year before this would happen. I am absolutely shocked that the Taoiseach found out about this issue by text. This is not a minor deal.

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