The Taoiseach acknowledged that the systematic approach within nursing homes is working. When I saw the outbreak, for example, in Naas with which I am very familiar, more than 80 staff were out either due to being directly affected by Covid itself or having to self-isolate. That has a monumental impact on the ability of the hospital to operate. The same would have been the case in Letterkenny and Limerick. It struck me that it was an obvious setting to carry out routine testing in the same way that it is carried out in nursing homes. There are probably other settings where the spare capacity could be used in a preventative way as a means of keeping the numbers low. That is going to be the object of the exercise. The public have to play their role and they will pay a great deal of attention to the guidance they are given, but there is a role for the State, and it is that systematic preventative role. I am looking to see what is being done in that regard. I do think people see international travel as a big risk.

As a country, we are particularly dependent on international travel connectivity, but the numbers travelling have dropped significantly on an annual basis. I think it is down 96% or 97% annually. We know from the airports how desolate they are. That said, we are conscious coming into the Christmas period that we need to be particularly vigilant. As a Government, we decided on the framework for international travel in the context of Covid-19 in line with the European Union traffic light system, which will involve Covid-19 testing at pre-departure or on arrival. From 29 November, this will include availability for testing post-arrival from day five for passengers who have arrived from a location that is not on the green list. The testing regime will be implemented through the private supply of testing availability in Ireland. At this stage, the PCR test is still the only test type considered acceptable by the HSE. The Dublin Airport Authority will scale up capacity to meet testing demand, rising to approximately 10,000 tests per day at weekends. The Minister and the HSE are looking at the potential application of antigen testing as a complementary tool to the PCR test at airports and in other settings, especially healthcare settings.