Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I have also raised this issue repeatedly with the Taoiseach. I go so far as to say that the failure to have an all-Ireland integrated strategy to deal with Covid-19 amounts to sabotage of the efforts necessary to deal with the virus. That is how high the stakes are, and all the public health experts, infectious disease experts and epidemiologists understand that point. It is simple to understand that we have a serious problem if we are operating two different strategies, two different timescales and two different approaches. Nothing is more important than addressing this issue.

During our earlier debate on staff involved in testing and tracing - I hope to God they are not on agency contracts in the North - I should have concluded my reference to an email I received from a contact tracer by saying she finished off by stating "the bad treatment and lack of pay are making me seriously reconsider undertaking the role, or, if I do, I will almost certainly jump ship as soon as I am offered employment where I am actually valued". That was on foot of one of these CPL contracts. If that is the attitude of the contact tracers we are recruiting, it does not bode well for when things really get serious.

We need, therefore, an integrated approach. What tangible moves has the Taoiseach made to achieve that and what responses is he getting? I am also curious about what is going on in the Northern Ireland Executive regarding this situation. We will have a serious problem on 14 November when restrictions are lifted in the North, given that the situation is worse up there. It will be a serious problem for the efforts we are making down here to drive down the infection rate. It is a matter of urgency that we renew our efforts to have a co-ordinated, aligned and integrated strategy in our public health efforts. Has the Taoiseach contacted the authorities in the UK concerning the value and imperative of having an all-Ireland strategy to deal with Covid-19?

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