Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

If the Tánaiste wants to contradict the medical professionals I have spoken to in some of these nursing homes with regard to the timing of delivery of vaccines into those nursing homes, he can, but timing is key, and every single nursing home that is experiencing the wave at the moment will tell him that timing has been absolutely shocking. Things could not have been worse with regard to the timing that has happened. The roll-out of the vaccine in the first number of weeks in this State was scandalously slow.

The other issue that comes up with nursing homes is the fact they are struggling with regard to staff. Nursing home after nursing home will tell the Tánaiste that if any of their staff gets Covid, they are wiped out and they struggle to get replacements. I have asked the Tánaiste about Be On Call for Ireland and he has given me loads of excuses why it has not been used. I got a reply to a parliamentary question this week which states there are 680 people on the Be On Call for Ireland database who are job-ready and ready to go. How can a human resource so critically needed be available and not be used by the State in a sector that is experiencing so much death and destruction?

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