Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is great to keep throwing out the word and hoping it sticks. That is what some of these contributions are about. The Tánaiste was very clear. He said very clearly that he hoped there would be a vaccine in the first half of 2021. That is what he said to us this morning. That got translated into something else but that is what he said to us. Most people are saying there could be a vaccine in the first half of 2021. The WHO believes there could be a vaccine around March or April but no one is definitive about that because we cannot be. It depends on clinical trials and how various candidate vaccines progress during the research and clinical trial phases. The only good news is that an unprecedented number of companies, more than ever in our history, are chasing and researching a vaccine for one virus. We need success on that front in order to enable us to get beyond the very damaging impact of Covid-19.

The advice from NPHET is very clear that Dubliners are encouraged not to travel outside of Dublin. NPHET is encouraging people not to travel if possible. That is the advice as of now.

As regards supporters and so on, NPHET was not overly prescriptive. There was a discussion on some of those modest issues but there was no major deviation in the broad thrust of the advice.

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