Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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1213. To ask the Minister for Health the measures being taken to counter pseudoscience, falsehoods and denial in respect of Covid-19; his views on whether the State is doing enough to counter these falsehoods, which have increased since the announcement of a second lockdown; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32675/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In line with best practice international advice and guidance provided by the WHO and the ECDC, communications has been a cornerstone of my Department and wider Government’s response to COVID-19. There is no vaccine or viral therapy treatment available yet, so this means that consistent, comprehensive communication around personal preventive behaviours and public health guidance is crucial to keep people safe at this time - especially at periods in which the virus is circulating at high levels within the community.

To that end, my Department has held press briefings from the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to ensure that experts in public health are to the fore when informing the public about the disease’s pattern and progression within Ireland. This gives journalists from a broad cross section of the media the opportunity to ask key figures such as the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Chief Medical Officer questions on a regular and consistent basis, in order to counter the potential spread of misinformation in the media.

Representatives of the NPHET are also regularly available for media interview across all major media outlets such as RTE, Newstalk and Virgin Media News, in order to answer questions and provide response to any concerns posed to them by media or the general public in relation to the pandemic and Ireland’s response to it.

In each daily press release issued by my Department, links are provided to the COVID-19 dashboard, where detailed information on the spread of COVID-19 and key indicators in the community are available. This includes information such as the number of hospitalisations, ICU figures, tests carried out, and information on case numbers given at LEA level.

My Department is also responsive to all media queries sent into the Press Office and releases statements providing accurate, timely public health information in response to the media on a daily basis.

Consistently, my Department has directed followers on social media to official sources of information, such as the Department’s own website, the COVID-19 Data Hub and the HSE’s website. The HSE also undertakes considerable social media advertising campaigns in order to promote public health guidelines and advice across platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.