Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On the first question regarding disability settings, what has been done so far and the target for last Sunday was that residents aged over 65 both in the mental health and disability long-term care settings would be vaccinated. That is being done. They are moving now on to the vaccination of the staff both in the mental health and the disability sector and this is happening this week.

As to dentists, there has not been an agreement as to vaccination with them. I have asked the Department to put such an agreement in place. Dentists, as they have pointed out themselves, are clinically trained to give people injections all the time. My understanding is that there has been initial conversations between the Department and dentists.

With regard to pharmacists, the deal is in place and they will be part of the roll-out. Exactly when and how they are brought in, as we begin to scale up from the over 70s is an operational decision for the HSE rather than a political decision and they are working through it in detail at the moment.

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