Mattie McGrath Demands Rapid Testing, Funding and NETH Reform
Mattie McGrath spoke on businesses, testing and the national response, urging immediate budget support and a revamp of the national expert team. He criticised HSE engagement with testing providers and pressed for rapid antigen validation and broader expertise in decision-making.
Business and funding urgency
He recounted constituents in Bray whose businesses and family livelihoods have been upturned, describing employers who kept 30 to 40 staff out of loyalty and venues that previously played for 250 people. He urged the minister to raise the need for funding with Pascal Donoghue, Minister Donoghue and Minister McGrath ahead of the budget on Tuesday, saying supports must be found from Europe or other sources.
Call to revamp the national team
He asked whether there was any intent to reform and revamp the national team, comparing it to a total overhaul seen in the NHS across the water. He saluted the work done so far and named Tony with good wishes, but argued that after seven months the structure needs change and that a 40-strong setup is "way too many" and should include industry, self-employed people and mental health associations.
Concerns about health service engagement and testing providers
He criticised the HSE as too cumbersome and accused it of not engaging with volunteer specialists, the army and private testing providers with cheaper, quicker solutions. He said some volunteers who returned home lost jobs and that there is a "closed shop" preventing alternate testing options from being considered.
Ministerial response on rapid testing and validation
The minister replied that rapid antigen testing is being looked at, that NETH had considered a paper and that validation - running antigen tests side by side with PCR - would be required. The minister said the HSE is working with companies, HICWA had taken a broad look, and the Department of Transport is examining rapid testing for airports, noting a pilot at Heathrow as an example.
Staffing, oversight and expert input
The minister said the HSE is hiring over 3,000 people for testing and contact tracing and agreed that proposals to broaden expertise should remain under consideration. He referenced a framework that included an oversight committee with representation from business, transport, foreign affairs and other departments and said he wanted the best women and men in the country feeding into the national effort.
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I'm glad, Minister, to hear you speak those words, and speak them so genuinely, because these people that have been, their lives have been upturned, jobs, generations of families, I stay in your own constituency in Bray, you know where it is, family, business, and playing 250 people, and they want to keep those people, I was there last night, they still have 30, 40 people, because they have loyalty to their customers and back and forward, and I salute them, but I hope that you have said this to Pascal Donoghue, Minister Donoghue and Minister McGrath, because the budget is in Tuesday, and they need funding, whether you have to get it from Europe or wherever, they need support, Minister, I also want to ask you, have you any, have you any interest or intent, maybe not interest is the wrong word, but intent, of reforming and revamping an effort, we see in the NHS in across the water in England, have totally revamped effort, look seven months has gone in since this team were pulled together, and I salute the work and Tony who wish him and his family well as well, in case anybody think otherwise, but they need some maybe change and revamping, because the fiasco of the weekend wasn't pleasant, because people's livelihoods are depending on it, and the other question I have, you know what I mean, we need to revamp that, and I think 40 is too many, way too many, we need industry, people from industry, people from self-employment, people from mental health associations, have you have made any calculation as to the damage, and the cost, and the damage to people's health, mental, physical, I could name all the different checks that have been postponed, the parents, the mothers giving birth and having bad outcomes, and their parents, their siblings, or their partners are not allowed in, and the third question then, there are a number of people who have offered solutions, testing, much cheaper than what is happening for, and you gave the answer to my colleague of mine earlier, somebody else, I think Deputy Shannon, that it's the HSE dealing with that, it's too cumbersome, it's too slow, we saw the people that volunteered for Ireland, the army, the different specialties, and they've all been left, some of them lost their jobs now, because they came home, they only applied a minuscule amount of them, so are they keeping the position for themselves, and are they, it's a closed shop, I know people that have gone in with testing, testing situations, that are much cheaper, much quicker, and they haven't even got a look in, so there's something wrong in the HSE, that's not engaging with these people, we need everybody with any ID, of any good system, to be engaged with now, so you might answer those three questions please. Thank you very much. Thanks Deputy, you might come back to me, sorry, and I was taking notes on your final question, which was testing, there are good solutions out there, rapid testing, antigen testing, it is being looked at, NETH had considered a paper on it today, and they are going to now do what they call validation of it, so run it side by side with PCR testing, which is the accepted gold standard, I'd like to see it deployed, but obviously we have to get the nod in terms of invalidation, and the HSE is working with companies, they are engaging with companies, and HICWA took a pretty broad look, the Department of Transport is also looking at rapid testing potential solutions for the airports, because there's going to need to be a lot of testing when we go on, I don't know that there is a delay, Deputy, like various countries are testing it, there's a pilot in Heathrow Airport going on at the moment, for example, and we're looking at it, NETH had it today, they are engaging, I would hazard an estimate that it will be deployed in the future as part of the airport testing, for example, but again, we'll have to have it validated by the health experts, experts, and then in terms of hiring, the HSE is hiring over 3,000 people on the testing and contact tracing, and I beg your pardon, will you remind me of your first question? Would you revamp and revitalise and re-energise NETH? They have all been at the coalface and working very hard, but the NHS have done it huge, because after seven months, surely things can be done differently, and the experts can be brought in there. Thanks, Deputy, given the fluidity of the situation, and the fact that we are learning all the time, that suggestion should be kept under consideration all the time. Certainly what I want to see, and when we launched the framework was brought in, was an oversight committee with representation from other departments like business and transport and foreign affairs and other places as well, to try and do that. But should we have as much broad and rounded experience from the very best women and men in this country feeding into what is a national effort? Absolutely we should.
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