Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I will begin with a quote:

This is a massive missed opportunity to speed up and scale up the production of lifesaving vaccines worldwide, by waiving the intellectual property barriers that prevent more qualified manufacturers from joining the effort... It is unforgivable that while people are literally fighting for breath, rich country governments continue to block what could be a vital breakthrough in ending this pandemic for everyone in rich and poor countries alike.

These are the words of Oxfam's health policy manager, Ms Anna Marriott, on the failure of the WTO on 11 March to overrule the intellectual property rights of the big pharmaceutical companies and allow generic manufacture of Covid vaccines. Why did the Irish Government side with the pharmaceutical companies at the WTO? Does the Minister agree that our reliance on a handful of big pharmaceutical corporations has been a disaster for the people of Ireland, Europe and of the world's poorer nations and that the policy should change?

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