Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that the Deputy raised the issue of the mental health nurses with me previously. It is one I will be raising with the task force and the HSE. The short answer is they are front-line healthcare workers. There is no question about that. It is just a question of when in the next few weeks they will receive the first dose, as it is for the GPs.

I would like to make a point, which is there is no political involvement in how this wave is allocated between different front-line healthcare workers or from one nursing home to another. An allegation was made, which was beyond the pale, suggesting there was political involvement in diverting vaccinations away from front-line healthcare workers. It was made by a member of the Opposition and it was very disappointing. There is no political involvement in this. These are operational decisions. The political involvement from all of us is the setting of the prioritisation, and that is by NIAC.

I hear the Deputy loudly and clearly on all three issues, that is, the mental health nurses, GPs and people with cystic fibrosis. Indeed, many other people have many other conditions which also make them vulnerable. We are obviously using the NIAC prioritisation. As we have said, however, that is a living document and we must always be up to reviewing it based on new information, new science and new information about the vaccine and how it is progressing.

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