Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In advance of the European Council meeting I want to speak about the Covid-19 vaccine programme and specifically the AstraZeneca vaccine. This morning 29 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were found in a warehouse in Italy. They appear to have come from the AstraZeneca Halix plant in the Netherlands, which is yet to be approved by the EU as a manufacturing facility. Furthermore, it appears they were bound for the UK and not the EU. AstraZeneca must be called out on that. How did that happen? How did they come from a manufacturing facility that was not approved? How did they find their way to Italy? How were these 29 million vaccines destined for the UK, which represents one third of the UK's order from AstraZeneca of 100 million?

I have had an opportunity to look at the two contracts, the EU's contract and the UK's contract with AstraZeneca. They are very different contracts. Ironically, the UK contract appears to have been dated the day after the EU contract was signed - the EU one on the 27th and the UK one on the 28th - and yet they are completely different. The UK contract specifically defines the supply line for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Schedule 2 on page 48 of the UK agreement outlines the UK supply chain. It specifies three manufacturing facilities for the drug substance and two manufacturing facilities for the drug product, which I expect refers to the vials. Furthermore clause 4.1 of the contract states that AstraZeneca shall ensure that its affiliates shall not use any other facilities beyond those listed in schedule 2. However, paragraph 5.4 of the EU agreement just refers to best reasonable efforts to manufacture the vaccine at a manufacturing site located within the EU which, for the purposes of section 5.4 only, shall include the UK. However, it does not mention specific manufacturing sites. That needs to be clarified. On anything relating to making orders, AstraZeneca's should be called out and the UK needs to define where the manufacturing facilities are.

Based on the contracts and what we hear in reports, it seems that the EU is paying £3 per dose and the EU appears to be paying £1.61, which is approximately half the price. Furthermore, the UK appears to be able to revoke the contract whereas the EU may only withhold payments. How did it arise that the UK contract was signed after the European contract? I would have thought the contracts should have been common. They should be absolutely down the middle. We are trying to deal with a world pandemic. This company was funded by EU taxpayers' money to do research with AstraZeneca.

It is stockpiling and carrying vaccines across borders undercover from a plant in the Netherlands not approved by the EU to a warehouse in Italy destined for the UK effectively without informing the EU of what it is doing. That is not acceptable and must be called out. One really would question the motives of AstraZeneca in this matter. This entire matter needs to be clarified. There needs to be commonality of treatment for European citizens, including Irish citizens, as well as UK citizens regarding the Covid-19 vaccine.

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