Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Deputy's ongoing advocacy on this issue. I share his desired end goal, that being, a global and just vaccination programme. It cannot be a vaccine for the West or wealthier countries. As the Deputy rightly stated, it has to be a vaccine for all of humanity. The only question is how to do that. As variants emerge or new diseases arrive and vaccines must be adjusted or created anew, how do we achieve a model that responds not just to the current strains of the coronavirus, but to future strains and diseases?

As I told the Deputy previously, I have a slight concern. Oxfam is looking for what the Deputy has advocated, but I am concerned that, were we to do this once, we could unintentionally undermine the companies' ability or willingness to do what we need them to do in future. However, I assure the Deputy that I share his goal for a global and just vaccination programme.

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