Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I put down several questions to the Department about vaccinations for several people aged over 70 in north Kildare. One has diabetes and COPD, and her spouse is recovering from lymphoma. They have been to their excellent GP practice, which tells them it too is in the dark, and does not know when they will get the vaccine. Also in north Kildare, there are people with complex illnesses, like advanced emphysema, being sent to their GP by their consultant, who tells them to go back to their consultant. None of them seems to know when they are going to be vaccinated. I had a similar call last night from a cancer patient in Celbridge who has been sent from the hospital to the GP, and the GP has told them to go back to the hospital.

Nobody is able to tell them when they are going to get the vaccine. I submitted a parliamentary question asking when people over 70 with chronic illnesses would be vaccinated and when their GPs would be informed of the plan and I got a one-line answer. This cannot be an Eircode lottery. I had to send that one-line response to several of my constituents last night, apologising to them and assuring them that I would be raising the matter with the Minister in the Dáil today. These people have worked all their lives. They cannot get answers from their doctors or their consultants about their vaccination. Many have been sheltering at home for over a year now and have been left hanging on.

Given the worrying case numbers, I urge the Minister to establish a forensic system of vaccine delivery. When it becomes clear that there will be doses left over, people who are next on the list should be on site to get the jab so that there will be none of this nonsense about vaccine doses going down the drain. We overbook planes and I do not see why we cannot overbook vaccinations. Everybody knows that the vaccinators are working to their limit and doing their best and people would not be upset if they had to come back the next day. After those who are next on the list, would the Minister consider spare vaccines for local carers, particularly parents of children with profound disabilities? These people are worn out. They have not been using day care centres because they are so worried about their children. They are terrified of getting Covid, even though they are fit and well, as they do not know who will look after their children if they die. Would the Minister consider creating a flying squad in each county to pick up those who are very susceptible to Covid but who do not have their own transport so that they can receive any spare vaccines, with a qualified person in charge of this at each vaccine centre?

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