Results 3,981-4,000 of 6,944 for speaker:Michael McNamara

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: I thank the Deputy. Does the Minister wish to briefly reply?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: The next speaker is from Fianna Fáil, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan. Then it will be Deputy McGrath. Deputy O'Sullivan has up to ten minutes.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: If I may ask a follow-up question, is it happening much more? The imbalance between the treatment of the meat plants and every other sector of the economy was striking.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: That figure is a big jump from the figure we were given here by the Health and Safety Authority two weeks ago.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: The next speaker is Deputy O'Reilly.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: The order is Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil so it will be Deputy O'Reilly, then Deputy O'Dowd followed by Deputy McAuliffe.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: The convention centre in the University of Limerick.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: Of course.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: We cannot have a conversation over and back. We need to move on to other members.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: Deputy Lawless wants to contribute for one and a half minutes. There is no more time available, I am afraid.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: I am hoping the Minister will help me to understand the current strategy. At the beginning of this we were told that the strategy was to flatten the curve. We were told that the virus would spread, as viruses do but that we needed to flatten the curve to ensure that our health system was not overrun and we did not have scenes like those in Italy and Spain. At the time that the restrictions...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: We had no idea how many people are unable to bear this. The Minister talked about causing unnecessary anxiety by the use of the word "trampoline" and I very much accept his explanation yet he is talking about another lockdown in circumstances where we have - I repeat - six people in ICU. I regret each and every one of them desperately. I lost a very close relative earlier this year and I...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: That is the number of detected cases. We have no idea really what is happening outside of detection levels. Is that fair?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: There are other studies that are being prepared.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: The Minister used the phrase "deaths will follow an increase in detected cases", but that has not happened across North America. It has not happened, thankfully, to date at least, across Europe.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: I am not saying that Donald Trump is doing a good job. Please do not mischaracterise me.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: What I am saying is that the increase in detected cases has not been accompanied with deaths. The trend for some time in North America and the Continent is that detection has not been accompanied by an increase in hospitalisations and deaths, thankfully. That is all I am saying.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: I note that in the coming days the Minister will provide the committee with the figures on how that capacity is to be increased and I thank him for that. I join him in asking people to behave responsibly, to take personal responsibility for their actions and to adhere to the measures that have been outlined. Speaking personally, I would caution against talk of another lockdown because there...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: That is not a committee view, it is a personal view.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: State Response to Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases (Resumed) (26 Aug 2020)

Michael McNamara: We are consistently told that young people suffer long-term effects. I have no doubt that is true. Do we have the figures on how many young people have long-term debilitating effects from Covid-19? Leaving aside young people, how many people who have overcome the virus to the point of being able to return to their day-to-day existence, be that as students, workers or retirees, are...