Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a number of questions. I want to follow up on what Deputy Jim O’Callaghan said about antigen tests and the importance of them. They might not be the silver bullet but I have no doubt that they would help the school community. Maybe the Minister of State could expand on that a little bit.

The other issue is the vaccine for the under-12s. I know this is not the Minister’s responsibility but a recent report stated that the Covid numbers in primary schools have rocketed in recent weeks. However, the numbers are not as high in secondary schools. That is the case even though secondary school pupils would probably be mixing more outside of the school than primary school children would. Has the Minister spoken to the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, or the people within the Department of Health about this? Has the Minister’s had any conversation on vaccinating under-12s? They are rolling out the vaccine for under-12s in other countries and I am surprised and disappointed with the delay in Ireland. It should be more of a priority because we have all been saying that the vaccine is working and the proof speaks for itself. I ask the Minister to comment on what conversations she has had on that with the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, or that her officials have had with Department of Health officials or any other people within the area of health.