Marian Harkin Presses on Masks, Passenger Forms and Council Funding
Marian Harkin asked the Taoiseach about face masks, the public health passenger locator form and financial support for local authorities during the COVID-19 response, urging clear guidance and mandatory arrival forms. She highlighted volunteer sewing efforts supplying scrubs and masks and warned councils are running out of revenue.
Face masks and coverings
The deputy argued the evidence supports wearing face masks despite questions about correct use, supply and cost, and asked when official guidance will be published. The Taoiseach replied the issue remains under scientific debate, said advice from the expert advisory bodies differs, and confirmed NHS/NEFID guidance currently prioritises healthcare workers and symptomatic people while the National Public Health Emergency Team considers wider advice.
Volunteer production of masks and gowns
Harkin described a volunteer group called North West Sows Masks and Gowns from Sligo, Eitrim, Rascommonan, Donegal that has supplied 500 scrubs and 4,000 masks nationwide with help from the Gardaí. She noted volunteers have fundraised, could upscale production and that homemade masks require only basic materials and some tuition.
Passenger locator form and enforcement
The deputy pressed the Taoiseach on how incoming passengers will be required to complete the public health passenger locator form given domestic movement limits of five kilometres. The Taoiseach said regulations to make the form mandatory are under consideration and that the Minister for Health can enact such regulations under existing legislation without primary legislation.
Local authority funding pressures
Harkin warned local authorities are facing a collapse in revenues - rates, parking charges and planning fees have fallen while COVID-related costs have risen - and thanked them for their work. The Taoiseach said a three-month rates waiver will be funded from central government to provide a cash boost, acknowledged other lost revenues, and pledged to work with local authorities while warning the taxpayer may not be able to compensate everyone for every loss.
Next steps and government position
Both the mask guidance and the passenger form regulation are under active consideration by public health authorities and the ministerial team. The government signalled it will try to support local authorities within the available resources while urging realism about the limits of what can be compensated during the pandemic.
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The first question is around the wearing of face masks as a containment strategy for COVID. I think the science from the evidence is clear. Yes, there are issues about how we wear them, but not whether we wear them or not. And there are concerns around supply and cost. But homemade masks require a needle, a thread, a piece of material, and for some of us, a little tuition from YouTube. But I know, for example, of a group of volunteers from Sligo, Eitrim, Rascommonan, Donegal. They're called North West Sows Masks and Gowns. They have supplied 500 scrubs and 4,000 masks nationwide with the help of the Gardaí. They have fundraised and they and other groups would be willing to upscale. It might even become a small income stream for some people. So I want to ask you, how soon can we expect guidance on masks? Secondly, you've already answered this question about the public health passenger locator form. But I want to emphasise to you that our own citizens are not allowed to move more than five kilometres from their own homes. So if you're not going to enact legislation to require incoming passengers to sign this form, how are you going to close that gaping hole in the containment strategy for COVID? And my third question is around our local authorities. Many of them are on their needs in respect to resources. It's not just collapse of rates for three months. It will be the end of the year before this is sorted. There's a collapse in other revenues, parking charges, charges for planning applications. They've disappeared. There's increased costs around COVID. And can I take this opportunity to thank our local authorities for the sterling work they have done in this instance? But I want to ask you, what plans do you have in place to support our local authorities who are literally running out of money? Thank you. Thank you, Deputy. Taoiseach. Thanks. Thanks very much, Deputy. The wearing of face masks and face coverings is in fact still very much a matter of scientific debate. I know some scientists speak about it with great certainty. But certainly within the expert advisory group and within EFID and within the World Health Organization, the ECDC, the CDC, you name it, you hear different advice. Because there isn't a scientific consensus on this matter. The research that has been done has largely been done in healthcare settings, not in the community, and has been done more generally and not specific to SARS-CoV-2 and therein lies a difficulty. But the advice currently from NEFID is that the healthcare workers should wear a face mask and that those with symptoms should do. And they're considering now whether to extend that advice more widely. And of course, there are different types of masks, surgical masks, respirator masks, face coverings. And we do have to bear in mind the risk of a lack of supply. We don't at the moment have a problem with the supply of face masks. But if we ask people to wear two or three or four a day, having 16 million a day available is difficult. So, you know, it's not the slam dunk that the deputy may suggest it is. But it is something that is very much under consideration by the National Public Health Emergency Team. On the passenger arrival form, we are considering regulations to make that mandatory. We don't need primary legislation. It's possible for the Minister for Health to make regulations under existing legislation, and that is under consideration. In relation to local authorities, and Deputy makes a very good point about local authorities being under some difficulty with their funding arrangements at the moment. The three-month rates waiver will help them, because they will get that money from central government. And they'll actually get more than they would have got in, because you never have 100% payment of rates, but we will give them the 100%. So that'll be a bit of a cash boost to them. But I fully appreciate that they're going to have other lost revenues in other areas, and we will work with local authorities on that. But I also need to be very frank with people as well, whether it's individuals, whether it's businesses, whether it's public bodies, local authorities, state agencies. It may not be possible for the taxpayer to compensate everyone for everything they've lost. That just may not be possible. But we will do the best we can within the resources we have. Thank you.
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