Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

My second question is to Professor MacCraith. I say very sincerely to him that Ireland obviously as a vast pharmaceutical industry. We have one of the most advanced pharmaceutical sectors in the European Union. If patents and intellectual property were not in the way, could the production of vaccines be ramped up in any way by our pharmaceutical industry, given that thus far €5 billion in public money has been spent on the three vaccines - those produced by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca - that will be available to the majority of people in the EU and beyond? Can Professor MacCraith see any way that the pharmaceutical companies in Ireland and other countries could, particularly in view of the fact that €5 billion has already been given to them, ramp up production to give us more vaccines to roll out as quickly as possible?