David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Some journalists have been getting emails from the Department of Health stating that it is going to move to fortnightly or biweekly reporting. I ask that the Minister takes that up with the HSE and makes sure reporting is on a weekly basis. The projection of all those targets for each week also needs to be set out.

The issue of pregnant women was raised with Professor Karina Butler and with the HSE at the meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health. While the HSE said the vaccine is being rolled out according to age, which we all accept, Professor Butler stated: "If it is recommended in pregnancy it is not so much that pregnant women require a specific prioritisation as such but as pregnancy is time-limited it may be that giving it to them might need to be facilitated in some way." That it "might need to be facilitated in some way" is not really what we want to hear; we need a firm recommendation. Will the Minister follow that up with NIAC? We have all received representations from women, gynaecologists and staff in maternity services in hospitals who say this should be looked at. Rather than saying it might be necessary, and I am sure that NIAC is looking at it, it would be better if we had a consistent message and a firm approach. I ask the Minister to take that up with NIAC.

Regarding new variants, what is his opinion on the Indian variant and on what we are seeing in India at the moment? Some 295,000 cases per day and 2,000 deaths per day is really worrying and yet, as I stand here and he sits here, India is still not on the red list. It has been added to the list in the North and that was the right thing to do. The Minister spoke earlier about flexibility and adaptability. Speed is important but staying ahead of the virus and new variants is also important. Why has India not been added to the list given what is happening in that country on a daily basis?

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