Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It has already been said by many that our numbers are still too high. We have had the terrible news of six more deaths in the past 24 hours, which means there have been 2,028 deaths during this entire period. It is an absolute tragedy for a huge number of families. There is a severe impact on our lives and our economy. We all have to do what we can to bring the numbers down, particularly as we are looking at opening up. A major emphasis has to be on test, trace and isolate. We all welcome the fact that there has been an increase in the capacity for tracing. We need to maintain this under continuous review. We are talking about opening up and that is necessary but we need to talk about outbreaks and how we deal with them. That is done by chasing down this horrible virus.

We have had a huge issue in respect of nursing homes and we have all heard of particular outbreaks in the past while that have got us worried when we remember what happened in March, April and May. I welcome what I have been told by the HSE regarding its improved strategies and line management in dealing with all these issues. We need to ensure that this happens and that all the necessary supports are provided to ensure our elderly citizens are looked after properly at this time.

I want to raise the issue of public health protocols in congregated settings. In fairness to the Minister of State, she has already indicated to me that this is something that needs to be looked at. It was brought to my attention that there was an outbreak at St. John of God's in Drumcar in and around 14 October last. This was in a congregated setting. It was like a residential campus. There were three residents and approximately 14 staff. One resident became sick with Covid-19 but, on public health advice, all of those in the facility were not considered a close contact. In fairness, the staff drew attention to the fact it was very likely that an asymptomatic member of staff had brought Covid-19 in. That was their belief. Screen testing was not happening in this congregated setting and, even following the outbreak in question, full testing was not done. A number of staff did not feel particularly well over two periods. They went to their own doctors to get tested and approximately nine of them had Covid-19. This is something we need to look at.

I have also heard that in September or October there was an outbreak at the Crosslanes psychiatric unit in Drogheda. As a result of this outbreak, the provision of the many mental health services on offer there, which are very necessary, particularly at this time, was almost brought to a halt. We need to look at all these health settings and at other congregated settings from the point of view of screening. The question is whether the latter is done by using the PCR capacity that exists. We also have to look at the possibility of carrying out rapid antigen tests, possibly alongside PCR testing, which is still seen as the gold standard. This is what we have to do until we get to that almost promised land when we have a vaccine and can move to a more normal life.

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