Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Irish people on the progress that has been made in this crisis. The number of cases since the peak is down 90%. The hospitalisation numbers are down more than 75% and ICU admissions are down more than 50%. That is the result of people up and down the country observing the obligations that arise during this crisis. Despite the frustration with the stop-go progress on vaccines, as of five days ago, 523,000 vaccines has been given. That number is probably at 600,000 now. This is an increase of 20% in a week in the number of people who have been vaccinated. By the middle of next week, all of the over-80s will be vaccinated. That will take out 63% of the risk of fatalities from the virus. It is a very significant group to have been vaccinated. As we move to the group with high-risk conditions, we will take even more of the risk out, particularly the risk of people being admitted to ICU.

I have two questions for the Minister. First, should we not now be considering extending the gap between doses of the vaccine? We could increase the number reached by 40% if we had a longer delay between doses. From what we hear, 80% of the impact is delivered through the first jab, with the second jab adding only another 10% to 15% in terms of effectiveness. We would be better moving more quickly down through the priority groups in terms of impact on the risk of the virus.

Second, I would like to ask the Minister how this dramatic de-risking of the virus will change the trigger points that will be determined for decisions on reopening the economy. Clearly, the risk associated with, say, 300 cases per day is very different if 80% of the risk has been removed. I can understand concerns about anticipatory behaviour, but we need to level with people if we are to sustain their support.

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