Professor Brian MacCraith:

Perhaps I can take some of those questions. My understanding is that Dr. Henry did not get a formal invitation to attend. In any event, I had asked whether he might be able to join me here but he had another major commitment. I believe that is the reason he is not here.

In response to the Deputy's question about up-to-date, factual information, I will set out the current position in respect of the regularity of vaccine supplies. Vaccines come in from Pfizer once a week; from Moderna they come in approximately fortnightly. I say "approximately" because in both cases we get confirmation, typically 48 hours in advance. Mr. Paul Reid, CEO of the HSE, has been announcing those numbers at least weekly at his press conferences. I imagine the HSE would have no problem in sharing those numbers. Sometimes the way the system works, in terms of the buffer we try to maintain to cover the second dose, is not fully appreciated by everyone. One has to explain the difference between the number of vaccines that have arrived and those that have been administered at a given point. I am pretty certain the HSE will have no problem in sharing those figures.