Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his very constructive ideas. I will engage with him. If he would like to meet up or send me something on exactly how we might use the app that would be great. We were a world leader in terms of the app. I believe it was the first multijurisdictional app anywhere in the world and I would love to see it used more. As he knows we have put the number of doses administered onto the app so if the Deputy has ideas about how we could expand its use I would love to hear them.

In terms of those aged 85 and older, there is no question that there has been anxiety because some GP practices got their doses in week one and some of them got them in week three. It was always going to be a three-week programme and there is a minor spillover of about 65 practices that will get them next week. We have to acknowledge that that has caused anxiety. There is no question about that. All I would say is that while we must listen to and respect the anxiety of those who did not get the vaccine exactly when they thought they would get it, we should also bear in mind that the silent vast majority in this case have got it and it has gone very well. However, we must make absolutely sure that we get it right and that we listen very carefully to those criticisms and constantly do better.

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