Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The State's response to the latest wave of Covid-19 can be described as haphazard and somewhat chaotic. It lacks urgency, cohesion and rationality. This is particularly evident in the approach to antigen testing, which is more like Lanigan's ball - in again and out again - than fact-based and deliberative. As we now know, the Government led pharmacists and retailers on a merry dance during negotiations to agree a subsidy for the tests, before abruptly walking off the dance floor. The Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, in a casual aside during a long interview yesterday revealed that a subsidy is no longer being contemplated, apparently because the market will provide. According to the Minister, a person can now get tests for €4 in certain supermarkets. The State's role in making tests affordable has been replaced by the market, or has it?

There are a number of glaring problems with the State's hands-off approach to the provision of antigen tests. First, I will address the issue of quality. Between June and early October, the European Commission rejected 160 separate applications from various producers of antigen tests, while six tests were removed altogether from the list during that time. Clearly, there are a lot of sub-par tests out there. There is no regulator for diagnostic tests in Ireland. The Health Products Regulatory Authority regulates medicines but it has no role in regulating antigen tests, nor does any other body. While retailers may be supplying tests at somewhat reduced rates, what assurance does the State have that these tests have been subject to any kind of quality control and are reliable?

Does the individual's personal responsibility in the fight against Covid-19 now extend to policing standards for antigen tests that may be on the market? It is also a reality that antigen tests at €3 or €4 each, when the advice is that they should be taken twice a week, are simply out of reach for many low- and middle-income workers who are already struggling to cope. The Minister for Health’s glib advice that people should simply shop around for the best price is beneath contempt.

Can the Taoiseach be clear? First, is this Government is happy for those who do not live near large discount supermarkets to pay through the nose no matter what their financial circumstances? Second, how does the State propose to ensure a consistent supply of affordable tests in the absence of having some role in their provision and supply? Third, and probably most important, does the Government have any plans to regulate diagnostic tests, specifically antigen tests, or does it also intend to foist responsibility for that work on to ordinary citizens?

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