Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Okay, I thank the Acting Chairman. I will begin by addressing Deputy O'Sullivan's question. I wholeheartedly agree with him about the Garda. From day one, members of the Garda have done an extraordinary job. They have put themselves in harm's way, both in terms of the virus and in some of the activities that we have seen, particularly the protest in Dublin and the disgraceful behaviour with direct attacks on gardaí. They have done an extraordinary job. They have been involved in a very hands-on and co-operative approach to enforcement. They do not come the heavy, lots of options are available to them. Ultimately, if they need to fine people, they will and many fines have now issued. Ultimately, if they need to prosecute people, they can and some prosecutions are under way. I think they have done a superb job.

Family carers do invaluable work, which is incredibly difficult, every day. Their contribution is hugely appreciated by the people they care for, their families and by all of us. That is to be acknowledged. The Deputy is asking whether, given that both these groups are doing such important work, they can be prioritised. A similar question has been asked about teachers, for obvious reasons, and funeral directors and those working in that sector because they are coming in contact with people who have died of Covid-19, as well as a wide variety of other groups. I, and all of us here, would like nothing more than to have sufficient supply to be able to simply roll it out at scale, at a rate of several hundred thousand per week, and we would move through all these very worthy groups at pace. We are working with all the supply we have. As the Deputy has acknowledged, it is right and proper that we prioritise those at highest risk first and our healthcare workers. As mentioned earlier, the impact the vaccine is having on the cohorts that have been vaccinated is nothing short of astonishing, with a 95% reduction in Covid infection rates for hospital workers. We should remember that not all hospital workers have received their two doses yet. The reduction is in part based on partial vaccination and partly down to a very welcome reduction in community transmission, which has come at a very high cost to and sacrifice by the Irish people. As the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, said earlier, the impact in nursing homes has been radical. The numbers of staff out of work because of Covid, directly or indirectly, was several thousands in January. It is now in the low hundreds and continues to fall. We fully expect a similar boon for those getting the vaccine based on age.

At present, several cohorts have been agreed in the prioritisation. Cohort 1 comprises those in long-term residential care, cohort 2 comprises healthcare workers, cohort 3 is based on age, namely those aged 70 years and older and cohort 4 now includes those identified as being at very high risk due to underlying conditions. Then there are two other cohorts, namely, those involved in the vaccination programme, those aged 65 to 69 years and then people with underlying conditions which puts them at high risk but not very high risk. When all those cohorts are added up, it amounts to a very sizeable group of people. For instance, there are believed to be in excess of half a million people with underlying conditions, and then there are those aged 65 to 69 years. A very large group of people already has been prioritised and I think there is pretty much universal support for the approach taken to date. Understandably, the question being raised across the House is, what happens after that? Can family carers, members of the Garda, teachers, funeral directors and a variety of very worthy and important groups come next? The national immunisation advisory committee and the Department of Health, in conjunction with other Departments, are doing a full review of the population to be vaccinated after the groups we have just talked about. NIAC considers the risk profile, because we always want to prioritise those most at risk from Covid, as well as the likelihood of people getting infected. The work is ongoing. I know the House wants the detail and to know broadly when people can expect to get their first dose, because the second is pinned to that, depending on the vaccine, or if it is the Janssen vaccine, it is just one dose. It would be useful, and has been discussed at length here today, that when that group is agreed and we look at our provisional supplies, which have moved in a way that caused a great deal of anxiety, that we would be able to provide indicative time lines for the remaining cohorts, perhaps by month.

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