Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A statement.

In order for the vaccine roll-out to succeed - we all want it to succeed - it needs a plan to deliver buy-in and trust from participants. Buy-in should be very high. The Covid-19 vaccine is likely to be the most desired vaccine the world has seen in decades. The plan should set out goals and timelines and performance indicators and all of this will build trust. If the plan is good, it will work.

Unfortunately, the last couple of weeks have shaken the implicit trust that many people had. Educators and teaching staff, early years, special needs assistants, SNAs, special education teachers, all teachers, facilities and office staff want to be sure that they and their students are safe in the workplace. They have worked exceptionally hard since June to plan for reopening with very little direction from the Department with minimal resources. The rate of spread in schools has been well contained for the most part thanks to staff. However, the new virus strains have completely changed circumstances for them. We are not dealing with the same situation we had from August to December. Not only are teaching staff wary of the Department of Education's reopening plan, they have been largely abandoned in the vaccine plan. The mantra that schools are safe is not good enough. It is the educators in the State that the Minister is talking to. The Minister is not trying to sell the monorail to residents of Springfield.

Teachers are ranked priority 11 out of 15. This defies all logic. I have been informed by healthcare workers that they are a broad category in the plan. While many in hospital settings have now received a vaccine, numerous others have been brushed aside. Home helps who go into the homes of elderly and vulnerable people and have close patient contact should be in priority 2. However, I am hearing from home help workers, who have not even been contacted about receiving the vaccine, that they are gravely concerned and need clarity. Dentists are in close contact with their patients and are exposed. We were assured they were in priority 2. Dentists in Kerry, however, have told me that they cannot even get clarification on when they will be contacted to arrange for the vaccine. I was also contacted by an adult day care worker in Kerry who told me his appointment for the vaccine was cancelled due to IT difficulties. When he complained, he was offered the vaccine in Cork city, two hours away. More chaos.

Every plan must have contingency. While I appreciate the vaccine is new and the methods of distribution present new challenges, this should have been accounted for. Surely the most basic plan would have stated leftover vaccines must be used for priority 2 workers. It is incredible that the communication of the plan was so poor and rushed. However, it is not surprising. This should have been addressed but like every other plan it was amended after pressure from the Opposition parties.

I have heard from teachers and special needs assistants who are terrified to re-enter schools. They care for their students but are being left to balance at-home students with in-person students without additional resources and no commitment to test for close contacts for them. In fact, there has been no additional consideration or resources for this cohort despite evidence of the new virus strains affecting younger people at a far greater rate.

Once the trust is broken, it is difficult to repair. Clarity must be provided and the rationale must be clear to all. I urge the Minister to ensure that the priorities fit with public health guidance, as well as investing the right effort and energy. The Government knew what had to be done in ICU but did not take action. The Government knew what had to be done regarding test and trace but that did not happen. It needed to tighten airports and borders but it did not. The Government needs to address the concerns of teachers straight away.

See this speech in context