Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The difficulty is that I have been asked to mention Turkey and Russia in my wrap-up. I want to get through some of the questions now, if I can. In regard to new variants, which were mentioned as a cause for concern, there is a great deal of work under way in the European Union on that issue. The EU's early warning and rapid response system is providing some data on the circulation of variants but the information is not complete. We are working with other EU member states on the response to new variants and making sure we have enough vaccines not just for this year but for next year.

We tentatively support the idea of a European health union but further work needs to be done on how it would operate in practice. We are still considering in detail the information the Commission has set out on the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, HERA, Incubator but we are very positively disposed to it. We are looking for greater detail in that regard and we will work with the Commission on it. The HERA Incubator is a central pillar of response that the EU is proposing for the future. Dr. Ronan Glynn has been nominated as Ireland's representative on the high-level expert group. That is an issue for the future.

Deputies McNamara, Cathal Crowe, O'Connor and a number of others asked about the digital green certificate. The conclusions from the European Council were that the leaders agreed that work would continue on this matter. The Commission has published a proposal for a regulation that would be legally binding in regard to digital green certificates. It would involve an interoperable certificate that outlines one's vaccination, test and recovery status. What these certificates might eventually be used for would be a matter for each member state.

The key point is the information would be there and it would be interoperable between member states. Currently, the Council of Ministers is agreeing its position and the European Parliament is considering it. They agreed to an expedited procedure and the Commission wants this in place by the summer. When agreement is reached between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers and the legislation is passed, it will be directly effective and we will have to apply it. The Taoiseach and the Government has said we are committed to doing the technical work to ensure we can comply with that regulation.

There is much positive work on that. Currently the focus is on the medical position, including vaccines and ending the pandemic so we can open as best we can. We will continue to work on the digital green certificate proposal. We will see in the near future what particular uses it may have.

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