No decision on subsidising antigen tests for the public has been made yet by the Government, the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said.
Despite expectations since last week that a plan for providing antigen tests to the public at subsidised cost of around €3, no proposal has yet been brought to the Cabinet by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, Mr Donohoe confirmed.
The initial proposal was to start with pharmacies, before other retailers, who would be able to give advice on when to use rapid tests.
However, consideration is still being given to how other parts of the retail sector could participate in the scheme. A late offer from retailers on how they might come on board may be among the reasons for the delay.
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Sources said there may be further changes to the structure of the scheme. In its original form, it would have cost around €31 million a month or €93 million for the envisaged three-month scheme.
Asked if a decision had been made in principle on subsidising the tests, Mr Donohoe said that the full matter would be considered when Mr Donnelly brought proposals to Cabinet.
The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has warned that incorrect use of antigen tests by many people could lead to increased infections.
The Government last week decided to expand the use of antigen testing in response to the emerging fourth wave and ministers and senior officials expected a plan for subsidised tests to be concluded before the weekend. Now it has not been presented to Cabinet at its weekly meeting this morning.
Dr Holohan has exercised significant pressure within Government against subsidising the tests, writing to Mr Donnelly last week advising it would be a mistake. He has cited survey evidence suggesting their widespread misuse.
Rolled out
Elsewhere the Taoiseach has told the Dáil that antigen testing is being rolled out in the agriculture sector, hospitals, colleges and to close contacts of confirmed cases of Covid-19.
Micheál Martin told the Dáil that more than 61,000 fully vaccinated asymptomatic close contacts had registered for the delivery of antigen kits since October 28th.
He agreed with Labour health spokesman Duncan Smith that there is a role for regular antigen testing in households.
Mr Martin said “it has to be done in a routine way, not symptomatic. That’s the key point.”
He said the concern of the Chief Medical Officer “is around the over utilisation of antigen testing when people are symptomatic. They should go straightaway and get the PCR test.”
Mr Smith asked if the Taoiseach agreed there was a medium-term role for regular antigen testing in households “as well as in schools and other businesses in order to keep this virus suppressed throughout 2022 and 2023”.
Mr Martin insisted that it should be “routine” and not in response to symptoms of the virus, adding that by the end of September well over 100,000 antigen tests were used in agriculture including meat plants.
He said the higher education sector had used 22,000 tests and there were between 2,700 and 3,000 such tests in hospitals.
“Likewise in residential care facilities there has been a programme of antigen tests,” and the over 61,000 close contacts who had registered for the kits since the end of October.
Confidence in system
Meanwhile, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris said there is a need to “move quickly” on antigen testing subsidies - but also to be “logical” in how it’s applied and to “get it right”.
“There is a final decision needed in relation to the subsidy and the cost, and I’ve no doubt the minister for health will bring that forward shortly,” Mr Harris said, pointing out the tests are used in higher education facilities, for close contacts, and in settings like meat factories and nursing homes already.
“So if we were having this conversation a couple of weeks ago it wouldn’t have been true to say antigen tests were a significant part of Ireland’s national toolkit. That is now changing, they very clearly are. And the minister for health will now finalise with colleagues across Government proposals for a subsidy. We need to move quickly on that but we also need to get it right, it needs to be logical,” he said, adding that while many people are “getting on with it” and buying the tests themselves, there was a need for a wide subsidy.
“If we want them to do that regularly, and I do want to see them do it regularly, I do think it’s important we help them with the cost, so the final details is a matter for the minister for health to bring proposals to government on.”
Richard Bruton, the Fine Gael TD for Dublin Bay North said it was important that people had "confidence" in the system that was rolled out.
“We need to first educate people about how we use them, and I think that’s being done, and we need to make them affordable, and the system of providing grants has been agreed that that is going to be done, but they’re working out the details with retailers to make sure that when it’s announced, you have something that people will have confidence in”
His party colleague Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, TD for Dún Laoghaire, said it was “very clear that Irish people are well able to use things correctly and have learned so much over the Covid period.”
Lack of urgency
Opposition TDs criticised the delay and called for antigen tests to be free.
Sinn Féin’s health spokesman David Cullinane said it’s “incredible” that a year after an expert panel was set up that there still is no “coherent plan” for the use of antigen tests.
He claimed there was a “lack of urgency” from Government and that “It’s quite easy to be honest to put in place a plan where you talk to the experts, listen to what the expert panel has said, very clearly communicate to people what it is antigen testing will be used for and then put in place a plan to subsidise – or in our case just make it freely available.”
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said “we are in an emergency situation and the most important thing we can do is identify cases and suppress transmission.
“Free antigen testing would help us to do that. Given the huge surge in cases, cost must not be a barrier to the use of antigen testing.”
The Labour Party meanwhile accused the Government of focusing on business supports over supports for workers.
Senator Marie Sherlock said her party is “deeply concerned” at this.
