Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is correct; the time is allocated by grouping. I was just saying that there is light at the end of the tunnel and there is hope with the vaccination programme well under way. As the Minister noted in his remarks, more than 143,000 vaccinations were administered up to last weekend, with another 51,000 due to be administered by this weekend. This will constitute the vast majority of nursing home residents and front-line healthcare staff. News that people over 70 years of age will start to receive their inoculations in the next two weeks is very encouraging. During the first wave, this cohort was particularly vulnerable and the worst impacted. Many such people have been cocooning or restricting their movements. News that the vaccination programme is well under way will come as a great relief to them.

There is a great enthusiasm for the vaccinations. Like all of my colleagues in the House, I have been contacted by constituents looking for more information on the vaccine programme. People want to know when they are likely to be vaccinated and what the arrangements will be. The Minister has highlighted the arrangement made with GPs and pharmacists. This is very welcome. I am sure there will be further news in that regard. There is a real hunger for information among the public.

Of course, all of this is subject to supply and, as the Minister highlighted in his remarks, there are issues in that regard at times and supply can fluctuate but people want a rough indication of when they will receive vaccination. I ask the Minister to ask the HSE about sending information to all homes or about a robust information campaign which might include a website and a helpline which people could ring to ask questions and get the information they desire about the vaccinations. I thank the Minister and his officials and all of the vaccination teams for the great work they are doing as part of this national effort.

See this speech in context