Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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315. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if wastewater analysis is taking place in Ireland to detect levels of Covid-19 as is done in other countries; if so, the regularity with which wastewater is being sampled; the results of those samples; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45178/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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University College Dublin, in common with many other research groups across Europe, is conducting research to detect fragments of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater and to use this information as an indicator of the approximate infection rates in a population.  Irish Water is facilitating waste water sample collection from three waste water treatment plants for this project. The Government is funding the project through the Science Foundation Ireland COVID-19 Rapid Response Funding award. The project team is providing reports to NPHET, the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, to Irish Water and to the Department of Health.

A Phase II Science Foundation Ireland COVID-19 Rapid Response Funding award based on this work was recently awarded representing a collaboration between University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and Queens University Belfast, to extend the project to Northern Ireland.