SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood today called on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to put the lives of people in the North of Ireland above the ‘petty politics’ of Brexit as he raised concerns about cross-border data sharing during contact tracing efforts.
The Foyle MP said that if information governance and data sharing agreements are not concluded before the expiration of the transition period, it will critically undermine efforts to prevent Covid-19 transmission across the island.
Said Mr Eastwood: “The island of Ireland is a single epidemiological unit when it comes to fighting the Covid-19 crisis.
“There’s no place for constitutional politics or flag waving in this, it’s about saving lives.
“That’s why the contact tracing programme is critical for cross-border workers, border communities and our wider population.
“We need to be able to track the spread of the virus, identify vulnerable communities and isolate them to save lives.
“That will require a huge effort between the North of Ireland Executive and the Irish Government to establish a joint tracing programme, ensure that our applications are compatible and, critically, to share information quickly.
“Anything that hinders the free flow of data will critically undermine the contact tracing process and put lives at risk.
“So it is a very serious matter when the British Government’s refuses to extend the transition period to ensure that we have an appropriate information governance framework that secures a reliable supply of sensitive data.
“We have argued for years that the scale of work that needs to be undertaken would demand a longer transition period.
“The COVID-19 crisis now means it’s a matter of life and death.
“No one should be willing to put narrow constitutional politics or flag waving ahead of the wellbeing of people on this island.
“The response from Boris Johnson to my question was deficient.
“A resolution to this issue must be reached, however long it takes,” added the Foyle MP.
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