Vol. 992 Thursday, No. 7 23 April 2020 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DÁIL ÉIREANN Insert Date Here 23/04/2020A00050An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 501 23/04/2020C00700Covid-19 (Taoiseach): Statements � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 502 23/04/2020Z00100Covid-19 (Irish Economy): Statements � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 524 23/04/2020ZZ00100Covid-19 (Health): Statements � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 550 23/04/2020XXX00025Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 579 DÁIL ÉIREANN Déardaoin, 23 Aibreán 2020 Thursday, 23 April 2020 Chuaigh an Ceann Comhairle i gceannas ar 12 p�m� Paidir. Prayer. 23/04/2020A00050An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business 23/04/2020B00050An Ceann Comhairle: I call Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh to announce the Order of Busi- ness for today� 23/04/2020C00300Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh: In relation to today’s business, it is proposed that, notwith- standing anything in Standing Orders, the only business to be taken shall be the business as set out in the Report of the Business Committee dated 21 April 2020, with no Questions on Promised Legislation; between each item of business, the House shall suspend for a period not exceeding five minutes; No. 4, statements and questions and answers on Covid-19 to the Taoiseach, shall not exceed 100 minutes, with each party or group having ten minutes; No� 5, statements on the Irish economy, shall not exceed 115 minutes, with statements from the Min- ister and spokespersons from Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin not exceeding 15 minutes each and statements from all other parties or groups not exceeding ten minutes each; No� 6, statements and questions and answers on Covid-19 to the Minister for Health, shall consist of an opening statement by a Minister or Minister of State of five minutes, followed by questions and answers not exceeding 100 minutes, with each party or group having ten minutes, and a five-minute response by a Minister or Minister of State; No. 7, statements and questions and answers on Covid-19 to the Minister for Education and Skills, shall consist of an opening statement by a Minister or Minister of State of five minutes, followed by questions and answers not exceed- ing 100 minutes, with each party or group having ten minutes, and a five-minute response by a Minister or Minister of State; and the Dáil shall adjourn on the conclusion of statements and questions and answers on Covid-19 to the Minister for Education and Skills, until 12 noon on Thursday 30 April 2020� 23/04/2020C00400An Ceann Comhairle: Is the proposal agreed? 23/04/2020C00500Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett: I understand we are due to conclude before 8 p�m� If so, my proposal is null and void, but if we over-run and are still here at 8 p�m� I propose that we would join the national round of applause to the health and other front-line workers who are keeping us going and protecting us in this current situation� 501 Dáil Éireann 23/04/2020C00600An Ceann Comhairle: If we are still here at 8 p�m�, we can do that� Is that agreed? Agreed� 23/04/2020C00700Covid-19 (Taoiseach): Statements 23/04/2020C00800An Ceann Comhairle: I call on the Taoiseach to make his statement� He has ten minutes� 23/04/2020D00100The Taoiseach: As of last night, we had 16,671 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in our country. Sadly, 769 people have so far lost their lives: people with lives and stories; people who made a contribution; people who mattered; and people who will be remembered� The Government is eternally grateful to all those working to combat Covid-19, and everyone is playing their part in this emergency, whether through their work or simply by staying home� The good news is that we now estimate that the reproduction number of the disease is between 0�7 and 1� More information will be provided on the modelling by Professor Philip Nolan later today� More people in Ireland have now recovered from coronavirus than have the virus, and more people have been discharged from hospital than are now in hospital as a conse- quence of coronavirus. This means that our collective national effort is working and that we are suppressing the disease in our communities� So far, 130 people, having recovered, have been discharged home from ICUs, and there has been no overall increase in the number of people in ICUs in recent days� We have been battered by a wave of destruction but, as a people, we have endured� I know that all of this is coming at an enormous cost, with people suffering increased anxiety because of the restrictions, people who have lost their jobs and people who fear losing their businesses� The mission of the next Government must be to bring the same focus and energy to rebuilding our society as we have brought to facing this health crisis� Today our new enemy is complacency� The real risk is that if we become lax in the next few days and weeks, we could lose control over the spread of the virus� So far we have not been able to slow transmission of the virus in every setting, and its impact in long-term care and residential facilities, both nursing homes and other care facilities, is great� Our most vulnerable citizens are at risk and we are now taking action to control outbreaks and minimise transmission to protect as many people as possible� This involves increased testing, now that that is possible; increased access to personal protective equipment, PPE; oxygen training; staff accommodation; and other approaches being undertaken. We are also providing financial assistance for nursing homes in order that they can better manage their response to Covid-19� International best practice shows that an integrated strategy of rigorous sampling, testing and contact tracing is the best way of managing this crisis� Our approach in all these areas has been robust and will help us plan for when we can safely ease the public health and physical dis- tancing measures� As of last Friday more than 105,000 tests had been processed in laboratories, including a laboratory in Germany� The National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, recommends that we should try to expand our testing capacity to approximately 100,000 tests per week. That is a significant increase but one that will be necessary as we plan to exit from the current restrictions and manage the aftermath� This is a big challenge� It might not be possible, but we will pull out all the stops to make it happen� The easing of public health measures will be gradual and will be done in a stepwise manner. It will require continuous effort by all of us to suppress and control this virus� Our easing of the restrictions will not necessarily mirror the manner in which they were escalated, and we must leave a period between taking each step so 502 23 April 2020 that we can monitor its impact and act if necessary� Certain stricter social distancing measures may have to be reintroduced if it looks like the spread of the incidence of the virus is increasing again� We have seen this happen, unfortunately, in Japan in recent days� Public health criteria have been developed by NPHET, based on the work of the World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Europe- an Commission� The criteria set out are: the incidence of transmission, including in respect of outbreaks in residential and other healthcare settings; ICU occupancy as an indicator of trans- mission; public health capacity, that is, testing and contact tracing; and overall health system capacity, including access to healthcare workers, beds and essential products and equipment. Extreme vigilance is required to limit the increase in new cases and to prevent more deaths. We must do everything we can to avoid a post-peak wave or a deadly second wave, which, as we know, occurred in the cases of H1N1 and during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918. When this is over we will awaken our society and our economy, and the actions we take to do so must be taken in a safe, appropriate, phased and timely way� I look forward to hearing Members’ observations and suggestions� 23/04/2020E00100An Ceann Comhairle: We have ten minutes for each leader, which can be statements, statements and questions or whatever Members like, but there are only ten minutes available. 23/04/2020E00200Deputy Micheál Martin: Our first thoughts today must again be with the families of those who have lost their lives during this pandemic� This virus has been every bit as deadly and de- structive as was feared� Those who have been worst hit by it have, in most cases, not been able to receive the personal support and comfort that is so important at a time of loss� We have all witnessed the experiences of friends and others where the normal ritual of grieving and mourn- ing could not apply or indeed where being with their loved ones at the end could not apply either� Our core duty remains doing everything we can to stop the spread of the virus, to care for those affected by it, and to support in every way possible the health workers, whose work has already saved thousands of lives� Before addressing a range of issues concerning the public response to the virus now and in the months ahead, I welcome back Deputy McDonald� We hope her recovery will continue to be robust� It must have been a terrible time for her and her family� The lengthy delay in provid- ing test results can only have made it even worse� It appears that widespread community transmission of the virus has been contained for at least a few weeks.