All those in the HSE, NPHET and the Department of Health who have been working on the Covid pandemic are patriots and represent the very best of public service but they are not infallible. None of us is. There are always ways to improve processes. There is back and forth between officials to ensure we get the right outcome, but that does not give credence to a conspiracy theory about there being negative tension. I am not suggesting Deputy Kelly believes that is the case. Rather, it means that experts in the HSE an…

NPHET announces what it believes needs to happen on a public health basis. It does so all the time. It announces what it believes needs to be done and asks the other organisations to do it. NPHET is not Dr. Tony Holohan's outfit. He chairs the team but there are nine members of the HSE on it. Nothing is perfect, but it works well. On nurses, my understanding is the number of nurses on enhanced contracts has gone from 3,200 when I spoke in the House on this issue last month to 4,500. Deputy Kelly is correct that the…

I can make a direction under section 10 but from my conversations with the HSE I do not think that is required. On Dealgan House, my understanding is that HIQA is due to inspect it. I will not be found wanting in taking further action if required. I am happy to discuss the matter with the Deputy. On the issue of screening, I am awaiting advice from Dr. Colm Henry on how and when it will be safe to proceed and I will provide a timeline at that stage.

Deputy Shortall is right about the partnership approach. There are things we need to do as a Government, a State and a health service. There are things people are doing very well. We desperately want to get what we are doing right. The Deputy acknowledges that. People are trying to do everything humanly possible to get our testing and tracing to where it needs to be. The commitments given by the HSE today were significant in that regard. I welcome the Deputy's comments on the Covid-19 committee to the effect that i…

I understand that as of now, NPHET's advice for the current phase is that those over 70 years should stay at home with the exception of exercise. The Deputy's question is whether that exercise be expanded to understand participating in some sports. I will ask that the Chief Medical Officer to comment on that as part of any decision that we will make tomorrow.

I know the Deputy did not say that. I was just trying to make the point that the reopening of schools, crèches and childcare will be a massive body of work which we will have to get right over the summer months.

I must be very careful on the floor of the House as I am conscious that we are in an agreement between the Private Hospital Association and the HSE on the use of private hospitals for, in the first instance, a three-month period, which, from memory, runs to the end of June, with the opportunity to extend for a further month and then the opportunity after that of extending on a month-by-month basis with the agreement of both sides. We are not doing it to provide profit for anyone; it is being done on an open cost ba…

I will revert to the Deputy in writing on the plasma issue. On the enhanced nurse contract, I am pleased that the number of nurses on it now is 4,500 compared with 3,200 last month but I want us to ensure that every nurse who wants that enhanced nurse contract can get it quickly. I have been clear to the HSE in that regard. Regarding nurses or other staff working in private hospitals, my understanding from the agreement is that they remain employees of that entity. I want to be clear on that. I want to create a uni…

I know the Deputy would like to go further but I just want to put the factual position on the record of the House.

I thank Deputy Murphy. I have written back to the Deputy on some of the questions he has asked in this regard. If I have not answered all of them, I am more than happy to; my office will come back to him as well. Regarding the full cost statement, my understanding is that all of these will be analysed by independent firms of accountants who will give a view then in respect of ensuring that it is a cost book approach. The Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General are obviously welcome to h…

Respectfully, not everything can be a scandal. What we are trying to do here is make sure we have enough capacity in the Irish health service to deal with a wave that, thank God, has not arrived so far. I am very grateful for the fact that a number of privately owned hospitals reached a not-for-profit open-book cost-only arrangement with the State. There are a number of safeguards put into the agreement, including independent accountant's oversight. The normal scrutiny that applies to the spending of taxpayers' mon…

The legislation passed by this House, which allows me to set regulations, is very clear in the statutory consultation process that I need to undergo, including liaising with people like the Chief Medical Officer and other relevant Ministers before making a decision to extend, renew or alter regulations. I will be going through that process. I share the Deputy's view that the people of this country have been incredible in their response. We are always of the view that regulations are something for the Garda to have …

The Deputy may have corresponded with me but I would very much welcome the details of those nursing homes. I will revert to him directly about that. I am holding twice weekly meetings with Nursing Homes Ireland and the HSE's national director leading on this with the specific aim of identifying any difficulties - be they in terms of PPE, testing and the like. I would be very happy to engage with the Deputy on that. Regarding when nursing home residents and staff and indeed many priority groups will be re-tested and…

We need to be clear and honest about this pandemic. There is no doubt that there are always areas in which we must continue to improve but the difference between this Government and others in different jurisdictions is that, when the challenge gets difficult, we do not walk away. In many countries, one would not get a test for Covid-19 unless one was in a hospital setting. Many countries are not doing community testing or recording what we are recording. We are proactively seeking to find this virus in every possib…

I see that time is up. I am not sure that, in my time in this House, there has been a time when there was a greater level of engagement between Deputies. I take questions for two hours a week, every week, on the floor of the Dáil, along with a range of other Government Ministers and the Taoiseach. A special committee dedicated to the issue will meet next Tuesday. A range of briefings has been provided, delivered by the HSE leadership, the Taoiseach, the Chief Medical Officer and others. There has certainly been an …

As Deputy Denis Naughten has made that comment on the record of the House, I have asked him to provide the details.

I do not have that detail so I do not intend to comment.

I will start with Deputy Nolan's questions. She is absolutely right to highlight the issue in regard to meat factories, as was Deputy Mattie McGrath. I have outlined on the record of this House the protocols in place and the national outbreak team that is overseeing this issue. The regulation and management of meat factories resides with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, rather than with me, but I take very seriously the points made by Deputies Nolan and Mattie McGrath. I will revert …

As Deputy Pringle said, and this is not a problem, sometimes we only hear the bad as politicians. That is a good thing that we get to bring the challenges and things not going well to the floor of this House. I respect that fully. I can tell Deputy Pringle that we are publishing testing figures every week concerning how many tests are completed. The Deputy is not just hearing that from the HSE or people like me. I heard the president of the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP, Dr. Mary Favier, in the natio…

-----to free up the time of a public health doctor to talk to someone who gets a positive result. I am confident things are moving in the right direction but I am in no way complacent or cocky about it. This is going to be an area that will require the scrutiny of this House, the Covid-19 committee and the likes. That will be a very constructive role. Deputy Pringle has also raised a very pertinent issue concerning our hospital services. I am conscious I am talking about the future. At some point, this House is goi…