Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is eligibility in respect of state aid rules where airports have suffered damages due to the impact of Covid-19. It is clear and obvious to us that regional airports, such as Knock, have been severely impacted by Covid-19. It is in the context that we are engaging with the European Commission. The Deputy can be assured of the certainty around that and the importance of maintaining our core connectivity. That is the reason that the Government this week provided €6 million, in addition to the €21.3 million allocated, to our regional airports.

Turning to testing, again, that will be provided by the private sector. The polymerase chain reaction, PCR, test is the gold standard in this regard. It will be rolled out by the private sector. As more capacity and technology comes online and as the uptake increases, that will reduce the cost. The cost of the PCR test is considerable now, however. As the Deputy may be aware, the National Virus Reference Laboratory, NVRL, is also looking at other testing technologies, such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification, LAMP, tests, which may be significantly cheaper than the PCR test. If those types of test are validated and become available, they could also be options for passengers.

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