Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Everybody in this Chamber, all of our Deputies and all of our Senators desperately want this vaccine roll-out to be delivered as soon as practically possible to our people across the State. We are all in this together. We really desperately want this to succeed. Therefore, the Minister should take my comments in the time ahead constructively.

When I saw the list of vaccination centres across the country, I saw one vaccination centre in Letterkenny, and the Minister knows the geography of Donegal. We then learned there would be two vaccination centres in Kerry, which has a similar population, in Tipperary, in Westmeath and in the Minister's own county of Wicklow, and five in Cork. When I questioned this, I was told that GPs and pharmacists will be delivering this. Why is just one vaccination centre in Letterkenny enough for the entire county of Donegal when there are two or five in other counties? That is the first issue.

The next issue is that I am told the GPs will be delivering this. The GPs in Carndonagh, a town on the Inishowen peninsula which I represent, were without the vaccine to deliver to their patients in recent days. We understand the vaccine is on the way soon, but it has caused great distress. I got a telephone call today from an 89 year old woman. Her vaccination was booked and then cancelled. She does not know when it will happen. GPs are speaking out across the State. As we speak, there is a real problem with the logistics, whatever about the supply issues. Will the Minister reassure the people of Donegal? The Minister will appreciate that people are looking across the nearby Border, which is obviously under the different regulatory system of the UK, and seeing that the North might open months ahead of society in Donegal. What assurance can the Minister give them?

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