Calls for free antigen tests and face masks for Irish public

David Cullinane, said he has written to the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, asking him to engage with the manufacturers of antigen tests to bolster supply, and to make them more freely available.

“What we are now seeing for large swathes of the population is the substitution of antigen testing for PCR testing, and if we want people to avail of it, then the best thing to do is make it freely available,” he said.

“We have been asking the Government to look North, for example, they have had free antigen testing for some time, and to look at other European countries.

“The difficulty is that the Government were far too slow to mainstream antigen testing into the overall testing response and that has been the problem. Now that they are being forced to use antigen testing, I think they are behind the curve on it,” he said.

“If we are asking people to use medical grade face masks, what does that mean and who is going to pay for it? Will there be supports for businesses if workers have to wear them?” he added.