Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I intend to use my four minutes to make statements. Then, in his wrap-up at the end of the session, the Minister might address my comments.

I am here as a Member of Dáil Éireann for Cork North-West. I am here because of events that took place 100 years ago and I pay tribute to those who were in Tureengarriffe on this morning 100 years ago. My community and family were closely involved in that.

We have fierce challenging times in respect of Covid-19 and with the management of the vaccine. Yesterday, Deputy Canney attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters. We raised the issue of people with disabilities. I have had engagement with some of the section 38 and section 39 organisations. Representatives of these organisations have been speaking about those aged over 65 in residential care getting the vaccine. However, they have to be taken to centres for vaccination. In one incident people had to be taken to Cork city, which is several miles away from the organisation - I do not wish to mention it by name.

I believe there should be a facility for people who are long-term residents in section 38 or section 39 organisations to be vaccinated on-site. This should apply to all of the staff who need to be vaccinated as well agency staff. Many people who are working for these organisations throughout the country are agency staff. They need to be considered and we need to try to ensure that it is possible to have vaccination on-site. I understand the challenges, the question of the loaves and fishes and that everyone is trying to do their level best to get to the right people in the first instance. However, I believe that people with a disability should be prioritised and should be looked at as a matter of urgency.

I have seen comments tweeted since this debate started in respect of pharmacies and getting the vaccines rolled out as fast as possible. That is highly commendable. We need a sense of urgency. The difficulty is that there is divisiveness in respect of the vaccine. We understand what is happening right across the world and with Europe and AstraZeneca and so on. The reality is that we have to be seen to prioritise vulnerable people and do what we can in the right way for the vaccination programme. We have to ensure that those who are less well off, the vulnerable, carers, home helps, those providing essential services for the care of elderly people and those with intellectual disabilities are looked after as fast as humanly possible. The Joint Committee on Disability Matters reiterated these points yesterday. We have been contacted and briefing documents have come back. We welcome this and we ask that we are continuously kept briefed as a committee on what is happening. We want to be informed as we make decisions. I call on the Minister to bear those points in mind. We need to ensure that our less well off are being prioritised and that there is a clear pathway for the vaccine as we go into what we hope will be an accelerated vaccine programme. It should allow everyone to get some breathing space from this horrific pandemic that has beset the country during the past 12 months.

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