Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and the Minister of State and thank them for their time and for taking questions this morning. The general indicators seem to be going well. The Minister and Minister of State outlined some of the indicators in terms of vaccinations. I note that the numbers in respect of one of the cohorts, that of front-line hospital staff, have gone from 16% to 4%, which is extremely welcome. Case numbers and hospitalisations are going in the right direction, which highlights that vaccination and restrictions are working.

I welcome the fact that NPHET is expected to announce its recommendations on nursing homes later today. It is commendable that 72,000 of those over 85 have already been vaccinated. I think the Minister of State highlighted a figure of 99% in that regard.

I ask the Minister of State to outline the process for those who are housebound. She may have stated that the National Ambulance Service is carrying out that work. I ask her to outline the position in that regard a little further.

I share the Minister's frustration regarding the supply of vaccines. I am sure that many of his European counterparts share that same concern, as do members of the public. All Deputies are being contacted by people who are frustrated by the lack of supply and the figures that are presented but then have to be scaled down simply because of issues relating to manufacturing supply. I note that vaccinations of a cohort comprising those who are high risk and aged between 16 and 69 will begin this week. How many people fall into that category?

When are certain categories of workers going to know into which cohort they actually fall? As previous speakers stated, such workers include members of An Garda Síochána, special needs assistants and public-facing workers such as those who work in GP surgeries, pharmacies or shops, for example. Carers have also been mentioned. The Minister and I have spoken about this issue previously.

On the issue of mass vaccination centres, can NIAC examine the usage of sub-centres such as parish centres or community halls as has been done in Israel and the United Arab Emirates? Using such premises has been very effective in those countries and has brought the vaccination programme right into the heart of communities. GPs and pharmacists would play a key role in that regard.

Finally, I have received reports in respect of essential retailers that are bringing in non-essential items to sell in their shops. I refer to Dunnes Stores in particular and its shop in Cornelscourt in my constituency. There have been reports regarding retailers in counties Clare and Limerick. Non-essential retailers find this extremely disturbing because they just cannot compete. There does not seem to be any problem for the retailers that continue to engage in such practices. It does have an impact. If people are not all in this together, as the phrase goes, then it is not fair. I ask the Minister to please follow up on that issue.

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