€9 million antigen testing fund welcomed by Kildare Senator
A Kildare Senator has welcomed the news that the government has allocated €9 million towards antigen testing for third-level students.
Fianna Fáil Senator Fiona O’ Loughlin said about the news: "Our return the campus education has been very successful, and we have achieved this by ensuring that we adhered to all public health advice."
"Therefore, I am pleased to see the Govt continuing to follow that advice."
She continued: "Antigen tests are certainly not a silver bullet, but they are an additional tool in our arsenal, and there is no doubt that their regular use will have a positive impact on the third level environment.
"They are an additional layer of protection, to prevent onward transmission: reducing onward transmission must be our focus, we need to ensure that we are protecting our students, our faculties and the wider public
The Kildare South politician concluded: "It’s important that everyone knows how to use rapid antigen tests correctly and knows how to read the results accurately; they are user friendly, and the instructions are clear... there is no reason we would not utilise this tool."
In related news, Senator O' Loughlin was among the politicians who accompanied Minister Simon Harris on a school trip in Kildare last week.