Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be sharing time. I will take approximately the first ten minutes.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to update the House on the Covid-19 vaccine programme. Like so much of our nation's response to the pandemic, the vaccine programme is testament to the way that Ireland, as a nation, has come together to show the best of what it can achieve. One of the most powerful demonstrations of how the pandemic has brought out the best is in the development of vaccines against Covid-19. Private sector innovation has merged with public sector investment and support to ensure the speedy development of safe and effective vaccines. This is particularly evident in the procurement process devised by the European Commission which allows member states to access a portfolio of candidate vaccines against Covid-19. Through the leveraging of the EU's emergency support instrument, funding has been provided to vaccine manufacturers to meet, in some instances, the cost of production for a vaccine.

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