Many people were looking forward to the lifting of level 5 restrictions, which takes place from today. We all hope it can be done safely. There has been a welcome reduction in Covid numbers but it is fair to say that they are not as low as many of us would have liked. Therefore, there is an even greater challenge in keeping the numbers as low as possible in the coming period. I have heard a great deal in recent days about personal responsibility and the need for people to be sensible in the precautions they take. I certainly echo that.

However, there is another side to this and it is the role of the State and State agencies. We have got to know a lot about the virus over the past year. We know it is airborne and that good ventilation plays a significant role in reducing risk. Now that the winter season is here and people are far more likely to spend time indoors, it is critically important that there is good advice and guidance, communicated by Government, in respect of ventilation. None of us wants to face a further lockdown in January. The public and business owners will heed good, practical advice but, as I said, the lead has to come from Government.

At the outset of the pandemic, the advice was: "test, test, test". Every evening we can see in the figures that when the number for Covid-19 incidence falls the number being tested also falls, so there is spare capacity. Is it intended to use that capacity and, if so, will the Taoiseach outline a strategy in terms of the numbers now involved in tracing? Is the full complement of tracers now in place? Are there new strategies relating to community transmission? There have been a number of large outbreaks in hospitals, such as in Letterkenny, Limerick and Naas. This has posed challenges for the operation of those hospitals. Indeed, many healthcare workers have become sick and have had to isolate. Routine swabbing in the nursing homes has helped to control the virus in that setting, but there is no similar routine system for staff in hospitals. Is that being considered? Are there other settings that could be considered in a preventative way?

How is it planned to manage international travel, particularly from countries where there is a high incidence of the virus? There is an EU-wide traffic light system, but each country is required to put its own system in place. Is the Taoiseach satisfied that the risks here will be addressed, given that there is likely to be a larger number travelling at Christmas than is currently the case?

We are told that a major factor in the Government making the choices it made was that there was compelling information and evidence on adverse mental health issues. Does the Taoiseach intend to make that information available? Like all Deputies, I hear from people who are in serious distress. We hear about people who are anxious and fearful. It is not just the result of isolation. People are worried about the virus itself and others are in distress because of the loss of jobs, uncertainty about the future and unpaid bills. For some there is a sense of frustration with the restrictions and not having anything to look forward to. Essentially, does the Taoiseach intend to use that information for other mental health strategies?

To recap, will the Taoiseach share the information? Is there spare capacity in testing? Will he also comment on good ventilation and international travel?

The Deputy raised a number of issues. The current epidemiological status is relatively good from a European perspective. We now have the lowest 14-day incidence rate in the 27 European Union member states at 89 per 100,000 people. That is a result of the people of Ireland working with level 5 over six weeks. The people deserve considerable credit for adhering to the guidelines. It is interesting that in the most recent survey of the Central Statistics Office, CSO, more than 73% of people felt that the level 5 restrictions were appropriate. We hear many complaints about the restrictions but the CSO study, which is released this week, suggests that the vast majority of people want to work with the guidelines and restrictions and want to be protected and stay safe. That must be said.

Obviously, we must watch it, as the virus spreads very quickly. The CSO data is also important in that it measures the high number of people who feel that they are experiencing a low quality of life at present as a result of Covid-19. The number has gone up to 30% since April, which is a worry. The number who are downhearted on a continuous basis has doubled since April from 5% to 10% or 11%. That speaks to the need to give people a lift and some quality of life. One always has this balance between severe restrictions and quality of life for people. That is why, for example, we made some modifications to level 3 by opening museums and galleries. We felt the threat is not great in those locations, so people can visit them, the public libraries and so forth. It was likewise with the restaurants, to allow people to get out for a night. That is important for mental well-being.

On the testing, we have significantly expanded the permanent capacity in the testing and tracing system. We have on-island capacity to test up to 126,000 people per week, but that can be increased to 140,000 per week by utilising available surge capacity with the HSE's German laboratory partner.

We offer automatic testing of close contacts. Serial testing will continue in high-risk environments and there will be large-scale testing in outbreak situations. Serial testing has been important in nursing homes. It has been an important extra check and control over the spread of the virus in those situations. Some 92% of GP referrals are provided with a Covid-19 test appointment within 24 hours, while the median time from swab to laboratory result is 25 hours. The average time to complete the contact tracing calls is 1.1 day from when the detected result is communicated. We have carried out approximately 2 million tests in laboratories across Ireland to date. We consistently rank among the countries performing most tests.

In terms of the recruitment issues, more than 700 people currently work in contact tracing centres, of whom 530 are newly recruited. The HSE is building a contact tracing workforce of approximately 800, while more than 1,000 people work in swabbing.

I thank the Taoiseach.

There is an issue around antigen and rapid testing. The European Commission has reported on that and the HSE is looking at that in the context of specific settings such as the healthcare settings the Deputy identified.

I thank the Taoiseach. We are way over time.

The Minister is looking at that as a matter of urgency.