Mr. Paul Reid:

To answer the question again, and I may have said it to one of the Deputy's colleagues, from a policy perspective it is for Department officials to advise the Minister and the Government on policy. That would be the route for any change to policy. Having said that, when the EU process for the advance purchase agreements that we have all signed up to comes through, it will give us a pipeline of almost €18 million of vaccines across a range of suppliers. The issue of stability of those suppliers, however, and the timing of those supplies has definitely been a feature of the first quarter. Should the Government decide to change its approach and work through a different process, that would be a policy decision for the Government. The EU process overall, while not specifically related to this issue, has served Ireland very well, and has served the HSE very well, with drugs, medical devices, drug supplies, availability and price. The decision such as the Deputy has asked about is a policy matter for the Government.