Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the digital green certificate which is due to go live tomorrow, as planned, with 20 EU member states already issuing certificates and talks with the UK progressing. What is the status of the talks with the UK? That would be good information for the House. We are due to go live on 19 July. Can the Taoiseach confirm if this is still the case? Yesterday, NPHET recommended that unvaccinated people should not travel, even with a clear test. Obviously, we are not taking action on that because it would be contrary to European law. I find it totally bizarre that NPHET does not work within the parameter of the law of the land given that we are part of Europe. There is nothing wrong with saying that. I am very supportive of public health, but surely it must be done within the guidance of the law. There are many comparisons with what other EU countries are doing, particularly as regards indoor dining.

Another matter on which we diverge from other countries is antigen testing. I have raised this previously. I do not understand why we are not doing antigen testing. I did it myself for months. Antigen tests have a major role to play, and they have a major role in getting members of the Government out of the situation in which they find themselves at present. Both Denmark and Britain send out thousands of these tests every day and week. That is hundreds of thousands or millions of tests. They certainly have a role. I believe the Taoiseach believes they have a role, and the Tánaiste has said so as well. They must have a role now. Certainly, that would make more sense as part of a mixture of measures, along with vaccinations, to be able to reopen society and particularly to deal with the indoor dining conundrum. Denmark, a country with a similar population to ours, has a daily testing capacity of 500,000 antigen tests and 200,000 PCR tests. That is how it reopened. It is similar in size to this country.

I do not believe we can continue with a plan that discriminates against young people. I vehemently oppose that. As regards the options for the future, there are the Janssen vaccine, the AstraZeneca vaccine, of which there will be a lesser amount, and antigen testing as part of it. I will strongly insist that this is the route we must take rather than anything else, which is more complicated. Will the Taoiseach confirm that the digital certificate will be going live here on 19 July?

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