HSE ‘must be transparent' about Covid equipment issues revealed by the 'Irish Examiner'

Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane said the revelations in the ‘Irish Examiner’ about the HSE’s sourcing of PPE at the onset of the Covid pandemic highlight the need for a ‘culture change’. File picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

How taxpayers’ money was spent buying personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators must form part of the Government’s planned inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic, Sinn Féin has said.

The call comes after the Irish Examiner reported that there was panic at the heart of the HSE to source PPE as the pandemic hit in March 2020 and how its practices “went rogue” in seeking to shore up Ireland’s defences for the pandemic.