Galway Bay FM Newsroom - Galway East Independent TD Sean Canney has called on the government to improve their testing, tracing and vaccination strategy by establishing a fourth strand focusing on quarantining.
He said that the regional group of TD’s wanted the government to implement stricter rules on travellers arriving into the country and that a ban on non-essential travel to Ireland to reduce numbers needed to be implemented without further delay.
“There are currently three strands to the State’s Covid-19 response: testing, tracing and vaccination but this is no longer enough. We urgently need to establish a fourth strand called quarantining”.
“The Regional Group of TDs want the Government to implement stricter rules on travellers arriving into the country. With the emergence of new strains of Covid-19 and the increased number of deaths, a ban on all non-essential travel to Ireland to reduce numbers needs to be implemented without further delay”.
“The Citywest complex and the multiple empty hotels in Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Rosslare with thousands of staff on PUP should be used for mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals through the front door”.
“Temporary border checkpoints within 5km of our land border are also needed. We need to turn back non-essential travellers to reduce numbers coming in the back door. In 2001, we did this for ‘Foot and Mouth disease’ in cattle, surely protecting our people is more important?
“Airlines and shipping companies that transport passengers who do not have a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours to Ireland should be fined”.
“The Regional Group members call on the Government yet again to bring clarity to their messaging. Continuous liaising with all stakeholders such as the Gardaí, teachers, unions, businesses, Oireachtas colleagues is essential in order to provide certainty and build support in the battle to protect lives and livelihoods”.
"The lack of clarity on the vaccine roll-out is a huge issue, as is the lack of information about projected delivery dates and quantities. We accept that it is all hinging on supply, but we need to have a clear programme to demonstrate what is being done by Government."
He also said that it was time to use Antigen testing as another tool to help with the testing for Covid 19 similar to what has been used in manufacturing and care homes among other industries.
“It is time to use rapid antigen testing as another tool to fight against this terrible disease. These tests have provided a pathway to business sustainability by enabling safe Covid-19 free workplaces. Many industries such as manufacturing, dairy, logistics, garages, care homes, TV/Film are using them and ignoring Government advice as it’s not considered credible”.
“The Regional Group note that the Government has continuously failed to efficiently plan, execute, evaluate and adapt their strategy to Covid-19 in a timely manner. Their continuous reactive approach demonstrates a failure to utilise available data, lack of innovation and thinking outside the box”.
