Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have a vaccine supply problem in this country, across Europe and across the world. We heard earlier today on "Morning Ireland" about the possibility in certain parts of the world that the roll-out could take until 2023 or 2024. With the difficulty that exists in regard to the new strains and the economic damage that is happening, this is utterly unacceptable and could lead to a cost of trillions. What interaction has the Taoiseach and the European Commission had with companies with a view to using the capacity that exists in Europe and elsewhere in the world? What we want to see is for companies to forgo intellectual rights and know-how. That is the best-case scenario. Either way, if we have capacity across the world in the pharmaceutical industry, it needs to be used. This is far too important an issue to do otherwise. It is life and death. I am asking the Taoiseach what interaction he and the European Commission have had with companies on this matter.

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