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Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told a private Fine Gael meeting that it was “very unfair” for the health service to “turn” on general practitioners (GPs) the responsibility for resolving the emerging controversy over testing and tracing.
At a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party tonight, Varadkar said that he first heard the news via The Irish Times on Tuesday night that the contact tracing system was so overwhelmed on the weekend that people who tested positive they were asked to do their own. follow up contacts.
He said that although the testability was holding up well, the contact tracing side of the system was not doing as well. It is understood that Mr. Varadkar said at the meeting that he believes it was “unfair” to “throw all this at the GPs”.
One person present said the Tánaiste said he was disappointed to hear an HSE spokesperson “throwing all this at them.”
Multiple sources present at the meeting said that the Tánaiste said several ministers had asked the HSE in recent months if it had enough contact markers and told the government that it did.
Mr. Varadkar said that contact trackers were inexpensive and that the HSE had been told that there would never be a problem funding these publications.
A source said that the Fine Gael leader explained to the meeting that the HSE had previously told the government that personnel they had left behind on contact tracing during the quieter months could be rehired.
It is understood that Mr. Varadkar said at the meeting “that is not what happened”.
He said the government has been told that the number of cases quickly went from 600 a day to 1,200 a day, and that is where the issue first came up.
The Fine Gael meeting also heard how GPs feel at a “breaking point” due to the tracking controversy.
May TD Alan Dillon said that several GPs had contacted the party angry that they now feel like they are struggling to keep up between Covid and non-Covid referrals, in addition to health referrals. mental.
Senator Tim Lombard is understood to have expressed concern that the issue of contact tracing has dogged the government for months and could become a “big problem” in the next six weeks if not addressed urgently.
The Tánaiste said at the meeting that HSE’s contact tracing services would now “reboot” and restore the system to operation.
Meanwhile, Varadkar also updated his match on the move to Level 5 which will go into effect on Thursday.
He said the risk of wrong approach was possibly hundreds, if not thousands, of premature deaths this summer.
He described the move to level five as “our last best chance.”
The Tánaiste warned that new restrictions were being introduced almost every two weeks since the summer and that for this reason, the Government is reaching the end of the road in this regard.
One source said they warned that if the current lockdown succeeds, there will be calls to extend it in December from those advocating for a zero Covid approach.
Furthermore, it is understood that he said that Ireland now has the strongest Covid 19 restrictions “on this side of Israel” in Europe and that he believes that time will show that the Irish approach was correct, although there was always the possibility that it was not.
He also said that a third shutdown in January “is not inevitable” if the situation can be controlled.
The issue has also been debated tonight at a meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, where TDs reported receiving large volumes of calls from concerned citizens and GPs.
Parliamentary party Fianna Fáil listened to requests for a special “one-stop-shop” hotline to address specific inquiries about Covid restrictions. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly is understood to have said the tracking issue was a one-time problem that had materialized.
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