Covid-19 was ‘brought to town on a bus travelling from capital’
COVID-19 was “unequivocally” transported to Cahersiveen on a bus taking asylum seekers to a new direct provision centre, a TD told the Dáil’s Covid-19 committee yesterday.
The committee also heard claims that rooms sick people had stayed in at the Skellig Star Hotel in the Co Kerry town were “deep cleaned” with a discount cleaning product.
There have been at least 180 Covid-19 cases in direct provision, including 25 cases of Covid-19 at the Skellig Star Hotel, where asylum seekers were sent in March in an attempt to free space at direct provision centres in Dublin.
Asylum seekers and locals have repeatedly asked the Government to shut down the Cahersiveen centre because of safety concerns.
It had been reported that the first case of Covid-19 there was confirmed on March 30.
But Norma Foley, Fianna Fáil TD for Kerry, yesterday told the committee she had seen a letter from the Skellig Star to the Department of Justice on March 24 which confirmed a suspected case of Covid-19.
She said the letter showed the person suspected of having Covid-19 was placed in self-isolation on March 20, one day after they arrived in Kerry.
“This timeline proves unequivocally that Covid-19 was transported by bus on the 18th and 19th of March to the Skellig Star and the community of Cahersiveen,” said Ms Foley.
“I say this with absolutely no blame to the residents of the Skellig Star, but I do apportion absolute culpability to the HSE and the Department of Justice for not conducting the necessary Covid-19 testing before leaving Dublin.”
Ms Foley said the failure to test asylum seekers before they left Dublin was a “grave oversight”.
She said she had been told that “deep cleaning” at the hotel had been done using Mr Price Stardrops white vinegar spray, which markets itself as being the cheapest product available.
Oonagh Buckley, deputy secretary general at the Department of Justice, said if Ms Foley had “verifiable evidence” of Covid-19 cases at the hotel earlier than March 30 she should share it.