Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On Deputy Calleary's point about the Cabinet co-ordination committee, it has been briefed on cybersecurity. The cybersecurity issue had an enormous negative impact on our health services, and especially on front-line workers. I pay a very warm tribute to everybody in administration, in the higher levels of the HSE and on the front line of our healthcare services who bore the brunt of an appalling criminal act that attacked our health services and patients but, above all, put enormous strain on our workers in health. I salute them for their commitment and persistence, particularly coming after the pandemic.

There are guidelines on ventilation and reports have been published. CO2 monitors are being put into schools across the board. That came out of a working group, which recommended they be put into our schools and it is happening.

On Deputy Tóibín's point, the reasons we are being cautious in reopening society - people attacked us earlier about our approach to indoor dining and hospitality - is to give space to the health services to restore non-Covid treatments and screening programmes and to facilitate diagnostics for non-Covid diseases, particularly cancer and diseases of the heart, liver and all the major organs of the body. We know there is a logjam because of Covid-19 and no other reason. That is one of the reasons we have to be very vigilant in keeping virus levels down. Once the virus infection rates go up again and hospitalisations rise, we retard the progress we have made to date in restoring health services.

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