Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am afraid we have come to the end of the session. Could the witness come back to us on that whole process regarding healthcare workers at risk and how he can reconfigure and reprioritise that area? Mr. Walsh mentioned the 117 nursing homes and the staff who are ill. Perhaps he could give us an update on that and the up-to-date IT systems for 2,700 GPs at some stage in the future. Perhaps he could reassure people that none of this vaccine is going to waste and it is not being dumped at the end of the day. That is a reassurance we can take as read here today. We look forward to hearing from Mr. Walsh again in the next couple of weeks. A huge responsibility is on him and all his colleagues. We wish them well. If we talk about a shining light, the vaccine has that potential . We are hoping it is a game-changer. There is still much concern about the efficacy of the various vaccines. Mr. Walsh has clarified many of the concerns today, however. I believe it is the start of a conversation we need to continue. I wish him well in his work.

The committee will meet again in public session next Tuesday, 2 February at 10 a.m. when we will get an update on addressing how nursing homes are coping with Covid-19 issues with representatives from the Department of Health, the HSE and Nursing Homes Ireland presenting to the committee.