Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We must always strive to do better. There has been a good deal of commentary about the communications over the past while. Some would argue that some of it was unfair. Some of it is undoubtedly fair. The public have a right to the very best information quickly and they have a right to clarity also because as the Senator said, people have been through a brutal year. Many people have been very worried all year. Many people are desperate to find out when they will be vaccinated. We are dealing with a complex and fluid situation where the scientific information and information about the vaccines changes regularly. The delivery schedules change a good deal. The advice we are given from NIAC has changed on more than one occasion. We try to find a balance between giving as much information as we can and not disappointing people, because some of that information gets updated and changed. As to whether we can do better, we must always do better and communications are an essential part of both the vaccine programme and, as the Senator rightly said, the national response to Covid-19.