Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for his questions. In respect of a pilot for rapid testing, I commissioned a report on it and I support its findings. The Deputy will be aware that there are strongly-held views among highly reputable, well-informed people on both sides. Some people like Professor Ferguson believe there is a very substantial role for rapid testing to play while others believe there is significant risk because it can give people a false sense that they have had the equivalent of a negative PCR. They may then adjust their behaviour in ways that are risky for them and for the people around them. I believe rapid testing has a strong role to play and that, as Professor Ferguson argued in his report, as this year goes on the technology is going to get better and the tests will become more accurate and easier to use. There will be some really interesting developments during the year.

It is the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, who would lead the work on an aviation pilot scheme, with support from the Department of Health and public health. What the Deputy has proposed is very interesting in that it would be in addition to the existing preflight PCR test. While I do not want to pre-empt anything, I imagine some people will say that if we are already doing PCR tests, there is no marginal benefit to rapid tests. It would be interesting to see if rapid testing could provide an additional source of protection in the context of the requirement for a PCR test being removed over time as we move to using a digital green certificate, whereby people who are deemed fully vaccinated can potentially travel without the need for a preflight PCR test. Perhaps the rapid test could provide an additional piece of protection and I am very happy to take that up with the Minister for Transport.

Regarding the waiver, I will revert to the Deputy directly. A lot of the issues he raised have been already discussed during this debate. What I want to see and what we need for ethical reasons as well as reasons of self-interest, is a fast global vaccination programme. That is going to require the Western world stepping up-----

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