Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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107. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for changes in legislation to ensure better enforcement and adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. [31134/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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It is vital that people in Ireland adhere to public health guidance and advice in order to suppress the spread of Covid 19 and the vast majority of people in Ireland are doing just that. Unfortunately, however, enforcement is sometimes required but always as a last resort. In that respect, the Deputy will be aware that the Health (Amendment) Act 2020 was passed by the Oireachtas on 23 October last.

The Act provides for penal provisions under the Health Act 1947 to be prescribed as fixed penalty provisions meaning that persons alleged to have committed an offence under a fixed penalty provision may pay a fixed penalty in lieu of prosecution. It provides that on prosecution, different levels of penalties may apply to first, second and third and subsequent offences under the Act. Finally, it provides for provisions to be prescribed as dwelling event provisions meaning that if a Garda reasonably suspects a breach of such a provision, he or she may attend at the entrance to the private dwelling and direct persons to leave that private dwelling or the vicinity of that private dwelling.

The fixed penalty notice offences and the level of penalties to apply will be determined in regulations which my Department is working on, in consultation with the Minister for Justice.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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108. To ask the Minister for Health the engagement he has had with his Northern Irish counterpart in relation to ICU capacity; if Covid-19 patients from Northern Ireland have been transferred to hospitals here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33470/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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A Memorandum of Understanding was formally agreed by the Chief Medical Officers of the Department of Health and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on 7 April 2020. This built on the long-standing cooperation and collaboration between health authorities and across the health systems in Ireland North and Southand strengthened that cooperation in relation to the public health response to COVID-19.

The Memorandum has formalised and underpinned the significant engagement between Ministers, Chief Medical Officers, Departments and other health agencies throughout this pandemic. It is facilitating greater co-operation and consistency of approach wherever possible on areas such as public health messaging, programmes of behavioural change, evidence base/modelling and contact-tracing.

In respect of ICU capacity specifically, senior clinicians have been engaging directly to ensure readiness for mutual support should the need arise, but it is important to emphasise that COVID measures introduced recently on both sides of the border are intended to “flatten the curve” and thus avoid the need for such arrangements.