Before Christmas I called for a greater use of antigen testing, or at least for the possibility of it to be explored in line with the Commission recommendations. I note that it will now be used in respect of ports. Is there not a role for antigen testing in our hospitals, in our schools, potentially, when they reopen, and in our airports in the absence of quarantine? Antigen testing could perhaps be used for people at least from safer countries to ensure that travel is taking place in a safe manner.

I thank the Deputy. I broadly agree that there is a greater role for antigen testing in Ireland into the future but we have to be guided by public health advice on this. NPHET, as the Deputy will be aware, has not been particularly confident about the accuracy of antigen testing and it believes that in many instances it does not meet what the manufacturers say. NPHET has updated its guidance in the past number of days so antigen testing is now going to be used more extensively for outbreaks and for symptomatic cases, and it has changed the definition of a case in Ireland in Ireland to take into account the fact that somebody may test positive on an antigen test and not just on a PCR test. That is a significant change, which has happened only in the past couple of days. Using the antigen test to screen people, for example, for travel or to attend events is a whole other issue and the evidence at the moment is that antigen testing is effective in symptomatic cases but not so much for screening, but that may change.