Ireland is facing a huge demand for personal protective equipment over the next year as a result of Covid-19, with an estimated cost of €1 billion to be allocated for PPE. Given the huge cost this poses, Róisín Shortall, TD and co-leader of the Social Democrats, has called on the Minister for Health to establish a group with responsibility for setting up manufacturing of PPE locally.
Speaking in today’s Dáil, Deputy Shortall said, “The €1 billion Ireland is projected to spend on PPE over the next year is an absolutely staggering figure – €250 million per quarter. Clearly, that reflects the timeline and scale of what is required.
“That figure of €1 billion has enormous implications not just for the health service budget, but for our economy as a whole. I want to call on the Minister to establish a group that can determine how much of this PPE can be supplied locally and where it could be produced within the country.
“Producing PPE locally would not only relieve the financial pressure on our economy, but it provides an opportunity to stimulate job creation, ensure a long-term sustainable supply chain, and maintain close monitoring over quality controls within production.”
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14 May 2020