His remarks come after Dr Catherine Motherway of University Hospital Limerick wanted that Ireland's ICU capacity is lower than other countries and is a "significant problem". He said issues challenges in terms of beds and ICU capacity can be avoided if the public "relentlessly do everything we're asking". In relation to ICU capacity Mr Reid acknowledged "we have started from a low benchmark". But he said plans have been put in place since January that will "see our ICU capacity majorly ramped up". "So we will have significantly ramped up our clinical care capacity in a very short period of time," he said.

Source: Irish Independent March 20, 2020 14:15 UTC