North-South Covid cooperation
Deputy Brendan Smith highlights cross-Border Covid risks and the need for continued cooperation between health authorities North and South. The Minister agrees, saying there is one island, ongoing official contact and good recent North-South engagement.
As the Minister knows, some months ago a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Department of Health and its counterpart in the North in relation to co-operation in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. In the meantime, there have been meetings at political and official level between both Administrations and that is welcome. Unfortunately, there have been increasing incidences of the virus in areas both north and south of the Border over recent weeks. Many eminent persons in different areas of medicine, such as Professor Sam McConkey and Dr. Gabriel Scally, have repeatedly spoken about the need for greater North-South co-operation. Will the Minister indicate if there are Government proposals to introduce new measures and intensify existing co-operation on an all-Ireland basis in dealing with the pandemic? We must take a greater all-Ireland approach or we will never rid our island of this virus.
Comment on this
The Deputy is right. We live on one island. We do not have a physical border and never will again, to my mind.
Comment on this
People crossing over and back is a part of everyday life. In those circumstances, we need to have complete co-operation between our health services, North and South, to make sure the risk of infection is minimised. At the recent North-South Ministerial Council, the administration from Stormont came down to Dublin Castle and it was a good meeting. A large part of it was made up of a presentation from the office of the Chief Medical Officer in Northern Ireland with Dr. Ronan Glynn, our own acting Chief Medical Officer. I know from talking to Dr. Glynn that they are in regular contact and are committed to integrating the two systems to make sure we minimise the risk of transmission across this island. I do not have specifics in terms of additional measures that are being considered in that regard but my sense is there is nothing restricting co-operation. If there is, we should identify it and address it with our colleagues. I am going to a North-South Ministerial Council meeting next week. If any Deputy has examples of where there are problems about gaps between the two, I am happy to raise it there.
