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

We are in the middle of a global pandemic and the virus is wreaking devastation on many industries, on many sectors and on society at large. That is the reality. The vaccination programme offers light at the end of the tunnel. We are part of a European pre-purchase agreement process with a number of companies for the delivery of the vaccine.

The first such company was Pfizer-BioNTech and it is delivering its vaccine to Ireland. Moderna has followed with low levels of vaccine. As soon as we get vaccines in, we will administer them, and that is what we have been doing. As I have said already in the House today, when the AstraZeneca vaccine is authorised, it will give us higher volumes. We will get higher volumes from Pfizer-BioNTech when it has reconfigured its manufacturing capacity, and that will also happen for the additional amounts we have purchased in March. I anticipate that by April, May or June, the issue will not be vaccine supply. Rather it will be a national effort with a very strong and expansive workforce to get the vaccine administered.

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