John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have two points, but not questions, for the Minister and Minister of State. Since we are all so caught up – rightly so, and I absolutely get it – in the delivery of vaccines, it is so easy for us to forget that so many have died from the virus since January 2021. Even newspapers seem to forget. There were more deaths from the virus in January 2021 than for the entirety of 2020. We should somehow mark that and not leave it out of our sight. I am not saying the Minister is doing so but there was a time when the newspapers were publishing names, obituaries and memorial pieces. It is funny how quickly we move on. I am just asking that we never lose sight of the fact that the virus has taken a significant toll.

A point that is not often made here is that the Minister and his Ministers of State have got more right than wrong. I hear colleagues in the Chamber thanking the front-line workers. We always thank the front-line workers and public health experts when things go right.

The Minister has had a good week in terms of the public health consultants' contract, which will stand the test of time, but it is so easily forgotten. I know the impact of the recent decision the Minister made - he was the first Minister for Health to do so - on provisions for additional gynaecological assistance for women with endometriosis, which is very much appreciated. These matters can get lost very quickly in the sands of time because of the pace of change.

I do not think the public are really that exercised about timelines anymore because momentum is building, and people are getting the inoculations into their arms. I do not know why we are sticking so steadfastly to the commitment of 250,000 a week. It must heap a huge amount of pressure on the HSE. It has been promised for weeks. The Minister might reflect on that. He will not have much time to answer questions.

The Minister answered a question I was going to ask about people with underlying conditions. There were catastrophic, Armageddon-like predictions about the portal collapsing and not being able to cope, yet we are looking at the hundreds of thousands of people who have successfully logged on to it to date. The Minister has very little time to respond, but there are a few seconds.

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