The HSE brought 465 ventilators into Ireland from China at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic that were never used. The remaining 561 units were procured from “traditional sources”, according to the mail, at a cost of €21,171,984, or €37,740 per machine. Some 359 of the devices from such sources came from Cork supplier Healthcare 21, at a pre-tax cost of €24,500 per unit. It is unclear, however, how the HSE’s total spend on 465 Chinese machines could be just €9.4m, given that its net spend on the Roqu devices alone was much greater than that figure. In order to mitigate that risk, Mr Bresnan suggested that the HSE must “simultaneously and aggressively” pursue other supply sources for ventilators at the same time as the Roqu transaction was being conducted.

Source: Irish Examiner February 08, 2021 19:41 UTC