Results 11,001-11,020 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: I have to consider that if less money is available for healthcare next year because of a move to level 5, that will also have very serious health implications.
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. The answer to the first question is "Yes". The Taoiseach and I discussed level 4. The video came from Fianna Fáil.
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: The latest update I have from the Chief Medical Officer tonight is that the R-number is 1.2 for the country. Cases are continuing to rise but the R-number has come down. On mass screening, which is also referred to as serial testing, there are several programmes under way. There is serial testing in nursing homes, the meat processing industry and direct provision centres. The positivity...
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: I thank Deputy O'Donoghue. I am one of the people at Cabinet who has a business background. I have a sense of how difficult it is to get up in the morning and work every hour so that you can pay your staff, pay your bills and, heaven forbid, get a bit of a margin at the end of the day to take home and live your own life. It breaks my heart to see what has happened around this country...
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: Deputy Mattie McGrath might come back to me. Apologies, I was taking notes on his final question, which was testing. There are good solutions out there. Rapid testing or antigen testing is being looked at. NPHET considered a paper on it today. They will now do so-called "validation" of it, that is, run it side-by-side with polymerase chain reaction, PCR, testing, which is the accepted...
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: I do not know that there is a delay. Various countries are testing it. For example, there is a pilot programme in Heathrow Airport at present. We are looking at it. NPHET had it today. I would hazard an estimate that it will be deployed in the future, for example, as part of the airport testing, but we will have to have it validated by the health experts. In terms of hiring, the HSE is...
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: Given the fluidity of the situation and the fact that we are learning all the time, that suggestion should be kept under consideration. Certainly, what I want to see and what, when we launched the framework, was brought in was an oversight committee with representation from other Departments, such as business, transport and foreign affairs, to try to do that. Should we have as much broad...
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: I can cut to the heart of the Deputy's question and allegations. I can assure the Deputy that I did not talk to any journalists about moving to level 4. The events were quite clear. The events were: I contacted the Chief Medical Officer early on Sunday and said I would like to talk before NPHET; he and I spoke; we had a very productive conversation; he talked about the escalating...
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: Okay. Honestly, who knows? People leak information. The Deputy and I have both been here for the past ten years and we know that. I can only say that I was not leaking anything. I was focused very much on NPHET, the situation and what could happen. The recommendation was very serious even if we did not go to level 5, going to level 3 is a really serious thing to do and a very difficult...
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: On the leak, the Deputy and I have worked together for many years and he knows I have the height of respect for him but I think the comments about the Taoiseach are unfair. I know he is just wondering out loud but ------
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: I do not think that it is fair. I acknowledge the gravity of the Deputy's second question and thank him for asking it. Many are asking questions abut who texted who when and who called who when and why did something happen at 6 p.m. on a Saturday instead of 12 o'clock on a Sunday. There was a very clear process over the weekend which led us to have to make a decision. All that matters is...
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: Yes but we share it with another jurisdiction and we are an open country. The R-nought is 1.2. I want to see a national effort to achieve across the country what the people of Kildare, Laois, and Offaly nailed in August. If we get the R-nought below 1 the virus will begin to go back. We need to push it right back down. The reason we are staying at level 3 rather than going to level 5...
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: I am going to refute various statements that the Deputy made. NPHET met on Sunday. I then met the Chief Medical Officer, the deputy Chief Medical Officer and the Secretary General and we discussed what was a very serious recommendation. NPHET met the Cabinet Covid committee-----
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: -----the next morning at 12 noon. Then the Cabinet met. The Deputy has suggested that some attacking and negative briefing against NPHET was going on during that period, culminating in something else on Tuesday. That is simply untrue. I have, as has the rest of the Government, a close working relationship with NPHET.
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: Are we always going to agree with NPHET? No. The Deputy's own party did not agree with the move to level 5.
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: I am answering-----
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: -----but I am first refuting-----
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: -----various false allegations the Deputy has made.
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: I have answered it repeatedly, Deputy. Yes, I spoke to the Chief Medical Officer on Sunday morning. We discussed the escalating epidemiological situation. The potential for a move to level 4 was raised. I emphasised my desire to see NPHET stick to the parameters of the framework. The information about level 4 was conveyed to the Taoiseach.
- Covid-19: Statements (8 Oct 2020)
Stephen Donnelly: Yes. That would not be a problem. Perhaps we can engage after this session and the Deputy can tell me exactly to which report he is referring. I will certainly endeavour to get it for him. There should not be any issue with that whatsoever. Serial testing is under way in meat processing plants. Happily, the positivity rate remains very low. The tests are working and picking things...