Senior UK health officials contacted their Irish counterparts this week seeking help with Covid-19 tests. The UK is facing problems with their government's Covid-19 test and trace programme, with people being forced to travel hundreds of miles to get a test.
HSE CEO Paul Reid said he was contacted by officials from the NHS earlier this week to help plug a hole in their system. Mr Reid was defending Ireland's testing capacity following a surge in demand for Covid-19 tests in recent weeks.
He said: "What's happening with their (UK) testing and tracing system, which is in almost collapse and the shutting down of swabbing centres. "Earlier this week, I was contacted by some very senior officials in the NHS seeking could the Irish health service