Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have two and a half minutes. At the end I will have a few questions to which the Minister might reply in writing. The HSE has confirmed that Ireland will slow down its vaccine roll-out this week. The revised plan means only 29,000 vaccinations will be given out this week.

That is a staggering 17,000 fewer than planned. The number under the original plan was 46,000. Surely a better plan should be put in place. It is obvious to the dog on the street that the Government does not have any type of grasp on the roll-out.

Much has been said in recent days about the vaccine roll-out to the over 70s. This cohort of 480,000 people will now receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will not be given to those aged over 70 in Ireland in spite of the EU drugs regulator approving the AstraZeneca vaccine for all age groups. It seems that the elderly in this country are getting the worst deal in the context of Covid-19. They were left to die in nursing homes when Covid originally hit. When a social welfare payment was given out, the elderly were not included. Now there has been another mix-up in terms of what vaccines they can be given. The Minister stated that the roll-out of the vaccine would not be politicised and that it would be more a decision made for others. He was correct. However, two weeks ago I was privately told in west Cork that the vaccine centres would be rolled out in Clonakilty and Bantry. I was told not to pass on that information, which is fair enough. I respect the person who said that to me. My office then phoned the Minister's office last Monday and asked his secretary for the locations of the vaccination centres in south-west Cork. People are asking where they will be located and that is why I wanted an answer from the Minister. We were not given an answer. We received a bland email with no details. Surely, if every person on the street knows where the centres will be located, Deputies should have been given the same information as everybody else. The secrecy attached to the locations makes the Government look highly suspect and lacking in leadership.

I have been made aware that some people in west Cork have been given the vaccine but should not have received it. At the same time, there are doctors, nurses and home helps in west Cork who have not been offered the vaccine. It is high time the Government woke up and dealt with this issue. On Tuesday, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, informed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health that the Irish vaccine roll-out started in a haphazard manner and was not focused on the locations or workplaces with the highest rate of infections. In other words, the Irish vaccine strategy was deeply flawed from the outset. If the Minister cannot answer my questions today, I would appreciate if he were to answer them at a later date.

On the issue of home helps, for three weeks I have been asking the Minister when home helps in west Cork will be vaccinated. It is a black and white question. Why are pharmacists not being allowed to roll out the vaccines? I would appreciate if the Minister were to come back to me on those issues.

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