Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the vaccine roll out. There are four components to what I am asking. The public needs to hear some answers as this is obviously the most important issue facing our nation at the moment. On 23 February, the Taoiseach stated to the nation that by the end of June up to 82% of adults would have at least their first vaccination. Fewer than two months later, the head of vaccine roll-out at the HSE, Damien McCallion, who is a very capable individual, said yesterday that he was not in a position to confirm whether the June target will be achieved. He was being diplomatic as usual as is his style, to be fair to him.

Supply is clearly an issue. I acknowledge that and I have always acknowledged that. There have been 12 changes this week alone to the dates of delivery times and volumes. This haphazard approach is worrying. How can AstraZeneca state at the beginning of the week that it would give 45,000 vaccines and then announce that only 9,000 would be delivered? I share the Taoiseach's frustration.

I want ask the Taoiseach directly to give him an opportunity to say publicly whether we will still meet the 82% target or, as is being reported in some media, such as in the Irish Independenttoday, that reaching the target of 82% is now being pushed to July. Will the Taoiseach confirm that we are still going to reach that target? Will we still get 250,000 vaccines into people per week by the end of this month? That is what was committed to.

There is a second component. When will the national immunisation advisory committee meet in respect of Johnson and Johnson? We have the European Medicines Agency report. Speed is of the essence here and every day counts. Can the Taoiseach inform the House when NIAC will meet in respect of this and on the proposal relating to vaccine intervals and spreading those out?

Third, I am concerned about the vaccination centres and the volume of vaccinators. This whole issue has been a mess from the beginning. Roles are being constantly advertised. Five times advertisements have gone out looking for more. If we have enough vaccinators, why are we always advertising for more? We now want radiographers, dental hygienists, medical students etc. Some 1,100 have been vaccinated but it has been said that we need between 2,500 and 5,000.

Finally, the front page of The Irish Timeson Monday reported yet another new oversight group had been set up in the Department of the Taoiseach. This group is being called the vaccine roll-out group and is to be chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach. The report said the group was being set up "to avoid some of the serious political and logistical differences that have arose in rolling out the programme." Why is this being set up? Why do we need a new layer of bureaucracy? I have asked previously for a vaccine Minister and that was dismissed. The majority of people would agree with me at this stage. Is this new group really a mudguard set up by the Taoiseach around the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, because of the concern the Taoiseach and his Government have with regard to the governance of the vaccine to date by the Minister for Health?

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