It is time for the Taoiseach to intervene with the pharmaceutical companies that are holding propriety rights over a critical reagent used in the test for Covid-19, according to Róisín Shortall, TD and co-leader of the Social Democrats.
Calling on the Taoiseach in the Dáil today, she said, “There is a logjam caused at the level of the labs because of a shortage of the reagent required. Everything based on our strategy, the 50 new test centres and the staff that have been mobilised, cannot be used as a result.
“We need a serious, high-level intervention to secure adequate volumes of the reagent and to secure access to the chemical formula so that other labs in this country can produce it. When the world is trying to respond to a deadly pandemic, it is a disgrace that the reagent is owned by particular commercial interests.”
In her address today, Deputy Shortall also called on the Taoiseach to establish an Exit Strategy Task Force to start considering how Ireland will rollback current restrictions. She said, “As the curve is starting to flatten, we need a high-level, cross-sector Task Force to consider the key actions for an exit strategy so that people can get back to work while staying safe.”
ENDS.