Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is no problem. To be clear, the situation is that only vaccines approved by the EMA are regarded as complying fully with our requirements and obviating the need for quarantine. That is the situation as it stands. Teachers vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine would be required to quarantine on their return. It is a situation which includes many Irish citizens and members of the diaspora, which is my area of responsibility, who view themselves as being fully vaccinated and who are living their lives in that way in the countries in which they reside. They are enjoying all the benefits of being fully vaccinated, and yet that is on foot of a vaccine that the WHO has recognised but that we do not.

The Minister for Health was asked about this matter in the Dáil as well. He stated these matters must be considered in the context of where we will be in the coming months. I am also conscious that we must be guided by advice from the NIAC and all the public health advice. It is what feeds into the Government's decision-making in this area. From the perspective of the diaspora, which is my main area of responsibility, therefore, it is important to recognise that situations of this type will arise involving Irish citizens. It will not just affect the teacher cohort we have been talking about because many locations globally are using vaccines supplied by Russia or China. Therefore, this is a matter for us to consider in the context of the advice we get from the health professionals.