Antigen test affordability
Deputy Doherty presses the Taoiseach on the cost of antigen tests and whether they are affordable for struggling families. The Taoiseach says prices are generally lower at multiples and outlines the Government’s free-test provision, while the Deputy insists the issue is affordability.
Last Tuesday, the Tánaiste said a memorandum would be brought to the Cabinet last week or early this week on the subsidisation of antigen testing. It did not happen on either occasion. Last Wednesday, the Taoiseach said his Government was committed to providing subsidised antigen testing and, yesterday, the Minister for Health said he is ditching plans to subsidise antigen testing because the market has solved the problem for the Government. However, the price of an antigen test in many places is still anything up to €8. Does the Taoiseach acknowledge this is out of the reach of struggling families, particularly if they have three or four children and want to follow the advice of the Government, which is to use antigen testing? Does the Taoiseach believe antigen testing should be made convenient, accessible and affordable to those who are asymptomatic? Does he believe that €5, €6 or, indeed, €8, which is charged in many outlets, is unaffordable to such families? What is he going to do about it?
Comment on this
First, €2 to €3 is the cost in quite a lot of multiples. I am not going to name them all. It is not €8, and the Deputy should not be putting that out as an average cost. It is not-----
Comment on this
The Government is outsourcing health policy to Lidl.
Comment on this
We do not all live beside the multiples.
Comment on this
On the basis of the Government working with the multiples, the cost is down to €2 to €3. The colleague of the Deputy opposite was asked whether Sinn Féin had costed its scheme. I believe the party was advocating a free scheme, costing approximately €500 million per year. Those are the choices.
Comment on this
We are giving out free antigen tests. More than 100,000 close contacts have received one. More than 130,000 in the agriculture sector received free antigen tests when required as part of serial testing. A total of 22,000 people in third level colleges have received free antigen tests while there were 8,000 yesterday for schools. We are averaging 4,000 free close-contact antigen tests per day.
Comment on this
My question was on what is affordable.