Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is a very disappointing response from the Tánaiste. I will make the point that the only person playing politics here is the Tánaiste. There is a very genuine argument and rationale for having some priority for family carers. There is no priority for them at all at the moment. They fall into the general population priority of age groups. I know many of these family carers. Some of them are very close to me. Do not tell me that I am playing politics with this when I know the risks associated with this. Some of these carers look after very vulnerable children and if they contract Covid-19, it could have serious consequences for these younger children. Did the Tánaiste ask for the advice with regard to family carers? He said in the Dáil that this advice was being sought and last week he said he had not got it. All we are asking is whether NIAC has given advice on family carers.

With regard to the mess around communication and the infrastructure not being properly in place to roll out the vaccine for the over-85s, the Tánaiste's argument that AstraZeneca did not arrive last week does not wash. AstraZeneca is not being provided to the over-85s.

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