Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow John Brady has called on the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to give an explanation to the people of Wicklow as to why there are no Covid-19 PCR tests available in the county today.
Deputy Brady said:
“According to official HSE sources there are no Covid-19 PCR tests available in ten counties across the state, including Wicklow.
At a time when we are witnessing thousands of new cases a day, and the Government is pressing ordinary people to self-administer antigen testing, this goes beyond the shambolic into the category of negligence.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, we had a Minister for Health in the County. First, we had Simon Harris, now we have Stephen Donnelly.
They have overseen the tragedy that occurred in our nursing homes, a travesty that merits a public inquiry.
Then we had the scandal of private hospitals administering vaccines to private schools.
Followed by the spending of hundreds of thousands of euros on testing centres in the county that never opened.
Now we have a travesty, where there are no Covid-19 PCR tests available in County Wicklow today.
These two Government TDs have serious questions to answer.
Taken in conjunction with the crisis in health services across the board in Wicklow, Ministers Harris and Donnelly have overseen a debacle in health across not just our own county, but across the state.
Patients are having serious difficulties in attempting to secure appointments with GPs. Which in many instances means that they are being denied access to treatment for chronic conditions for prolonged periods.
We need to see a complete overhaul in the approach to health in the county.”
