Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I begin by reminding the Minister that we are also top of the European league table for the number of days for which businesses and society have been closed under Covid restrictions. We are up to approximately 172 days now, compared with Denmark on 15 days.

Yesterday it was announced that we have missed yet another vaccine target, when last week's goal of administering 100,000 vaccines was not achieved. This morning in the House, the Tánaiste admitted that there are problems. The issues are reportedly due to the change in AstraZeneca's delivery schedule for last week. It is very concerning that targets are being routinely missed and it is too easily accepted that they can be missed. The French and Germans have decided to allow over-65s to be given the AstraZeneca vaccine, as we predicted more than three weeks ago that they would. Is this the real reason that we have received fewer vaccines?

The vaccination programme is one of the most important mass healthcare events ever to take place in this country. Our fastest way back to normality is through vaccination, but we do not appear to be treating the vaccination programme with the urgency it deserves. Why are we not sourcing vaccines from anywhere we can? It is very patronising of the Government to suggest that calling on it to source an increased vaccine supply would mean bringing in vaccines that have not yet been passed by the European Medicines Agency. By refusing to go out and source our own vaccines, the Government is, in effect, saying to the Irish people that more Covid deaths are an acceptable price to pay so long as we do not upset the EU. Germany and Denmark have done it. Some 29% of people in Northern Ireland have been vaccinated, compared with just 6% here. Denmark is a country similar in population to Ireland and it has vaccinated virtually everybody. The Minister must tell us what is causing this imbalance and what the Government intends to do to address it and speed the process up.

The position of family carers on the vaccine priority list needs to be reviewed. Currently, family carers are being told that they will receive no prioritisation and will be vaccinated whenever it is their turn, based on age and underlying conditions, with no recognition of the work they do. This is totally unacceptable. Family carers work in close contact with our most vulnerable people. It is beyond belief that the vaccine roll-out strategy does not recognise the importance of protecting them in their vitally important work. For the purposes of vaccination strategies, family carers should be classed as front-line healthcare workers, not treated as an afterthought. The 500,000 carers in this county, 8,000 of whom are in Wexford, do not accept the Government's position that this is solely a decision for the National Immunisation Advisory Committee. As they see it, the Government does not appreciate the millions of euro they save the State in residential care costs and they, rightly, believe that this should be a deciding factor.

Another issue being brought to my attention daily over the past month is the situation with people aged 80 to 84 and the over-85s, who are supposed to be top of the list in terms of prioritisation. Many colleagues have mentioned this today. A total of 200 doctors have not received the vaccine, which is not by any means a small number. Will the Minister clarify exactly what is happening? It is completely unclear to both doctors and their patients.

See this speech in context