Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I remain baffled as to the hesitation, reluctance and inaction that the Taoiseach is demonstrating when it comes to the issue of ventilation, air quality and air filtration. He said earlier today that he would do anything to protect life and limb, yet we know that providing minimum standards in terms of air quality and systems that can purify the air could potentially have a dramatic effect on the ability of this disease to transmit in the particular settings and particular types of buildings where it has been prevalent, such as school buildings of poor quality, nursing homes that are old and often not well ventilated, hospitals and so on.

The ICTU supports our Bill and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, has been saying this for a long time about the hospitals. I do not understand. It is a win-win for the Government. We could significantly reduce the impact of other measures and potentially get beyond this grim situation we are in if we took this issue seriously. The Taoiseach was talking about health and safety in workplaces. The amount of resources that would be required to do this would be a tiny fraction of the amount the Government is having to spend on income supports, yet the Taoiseach seems to be slow, reluctant, hesitant and dismissive. I do not understand it. Perhaps the Taoiseach could explain.

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