Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have said in the House before that Ireland, as a small country, had no choice but to be part of the EU vaccination process. However, it has to be said the Commission's handling of this matter has been less than sure-footed. Its approach from the start was slow and bureaucratic in terms of concluding pragmatic contracts and getting approvals for vaccines. Maybe this is the necessary modus operandi for an EU comprising 27 states.

However, it is now apparent that the Commission should have been tougher with vaccine manufacturers and not have willingly accepted their commitment with regard to deliveries. It seems the Commission lacked business acumen and did not have sufficient knowledge of the commercial realities of the world. That said, I am not saying it should have engaged in what Boris Johnson called capitalism and greed.

The UK, US and Israel are way ahead of the EU in the administration of vaccines, yet the EU is the world's biggest producer of vaccines. Up to last month, the EU had exported 41 million vaccine doses to 33 countries, including 10 million doses to the UK and 1 million doses to the US.

Sadly, no vaccines were exported to the EU in return. Ursula von der Leyen initially threatened to ban exports of vaccines from the EU to other countries that are producing their own vaccines and not exporting them in return. A blanket ban on exports would be a mistake and would be counterproductive. As vaccines contain many ingredients manufactured in many different countries, the interconnectivity of the global supply chains need to be kept open. I welcome, therefore, the new proposals put forward by the Commission this morning. However, we have a problem. AstraZeneca has failed to live up to its supply commitments and, as a result, Europe has been left short. The EU must now do everything possible to ramp up production in EU plants to ensure that the AstraZeneca company fulfils its commitments. I also hope that the attendance of US President Joe Biden at the council meeting will help to improve the position.

There is a problem in EU-UK relations. The vaccine issue is one problem while the Brexit divorce has been quite nasty. The unilateral declaration by the British Government to the effect that certain checks agreed as part of the Northern Ireland protocol would not be applied until at least October was wrong. The Commission had to act and was right to initiate legal action against the UK. It is in everyone's interest that the trade and co-operation agreement be implemented in full. I believe that Ireland in its traditional role as a peacemaker should do everything possible to try to improve relations between these two blocs.

I also give a cautious welcome for the digital green certificate. It is not a passport, nor is it a magic bullet and it is not foolproof against the importation of this insidious virus but the proposal should be actively explored.

I wish to put on the record my condemnation of the military coup in Myanmar and call on the EU to ramp up its response. I would also like to welcome the imposition of sanctions on China by the EU for human rights abuses and the systematic oppression of the Muslim Uighurs minority. I also note the 10th anniversary of the war in Syria and to request that increased humanitarian aid be given to that region.

I believe the EU must consider imposing further restrictive measures on Belarus given the human rights violations taking place there. Finally, I am worried about the proposal that the recovery and resilience fund for Ireland may be reduced. I ask that the Minister might deal with that in his response.

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