Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Like everyone else in the country I want to start by sincerely thanking Dr. Holohan, Professor Butler, Dr Glynn and their teams for the outstanding work they have done on behalf of our country and our people. We are eternally grateful for their efforts and the leadership they have shown over the past 18 months.

I was a little bit concerned about Dr. Holohan's statement on outbreaks in nursing homes. Nursing homes are where the most vulnerable in our society live. I ask him to elaborate a little bit on these outbreaks. Are there specific reasons for them, outside of the standard reasons we would expect such as community transmission? Is there anything unusual about them? Is it possibly down to some staff not being vaccinated? It is very concerning and the fact Dr. Holohan has noted it and is monitoring it very carefully is a concern. I ask Dr. Holohan to share with us a little more information on the outbreaks in nursing homes.