Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The shortage of vaccine supplies relative to the demand is well known, as are the reasons for it. I have no doubt that if the Taoiseach could source more vaccines, have vaccines manufactured in Ireland or even make vaccines himself, he would do so. Given that Dr. Mike Ryan talked about the ethical dilemma of administering vaccines to healthy young people when healthcare workers and elderly vulnerable individuals across the world need it, why are we administering them to healthy young people who have immunity and antibodies arising from previous infection? The latter can be proven by means of an antibody test. HIQA accepts that immunity following infection lasts for at least six months. We do not know that the immunity resulting from a vaccine will be much longer than that. It is certainly hoped and expected that it will be longer but we cannot say that with certainty, any more than we can say with certainty that there is immunity from having contracted the virus. That is generally accepted and it informs the approach of Israel, which is considered to be a world leader in vaccination. Israel afforded certain additional freedoms to people who had been vaccinated or who had immunity arising from infection and recovery. Likewise, it informs the EU digital pass, which, depending on its detail, may prove to be a good thing or a bad thing in facilitating freedom of movement. Why are we using such a scarce resource, that so many people want, and giving it to young, healthy people working in medical settings or who just happen to work for an NGO or a body that has front-line workers, even if they are not front-line workers themselves?

Unfortunately, that scenario is commonplace.

My second question is that the Taoiseach informed the Dáil and Deputy Naughten categorically that there would be no compulsory vaccination in the State, that that was never our approach and that this was based around bodily autonomy and informed consent. Given that, why are student nurses in Ireland now being told that they have to be vaccinated to be able to finish their placements and thereby finish their degrees? We need these people. These are nurses who have been on the front line all along. They have put their health and their bodies on the line for this State. Many of them are delighted that they are going to be given the vaccine but there are some who simply do not want it. The Taoiseach has acknowledged that there will be no compulsory vaccination.

The Government’s Minister for Health categorically denied in the Dáil that Mass going would be a penal provision and we now know that the State has adopted a contrary approach. He needs to correct the record of the Dáil in that regard for the sake of parliamentary democracy. That is a different issue, however, and I ask the Taoiseach to respond to the questions I have raised.

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