Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which has been raised several times today. To date, we have received more than 3,500 referrals from GPs concerning elderly and vulnerable people who are housebound and not able to go directly to their GP for the vaccine. Due to the complexity of the triage process, which follows from the referral concerning the GP, the individual to be vaccinated and their families, it has proved to be the case that the roll-out has taken longer than originally anticipated.

The NAS is operating a seven-day service and deploys more than ten vehicles every day to undertake appointments. We are averaging 400 appointments every week. The time it has taken to complete the project is driven by the complexities involved. For example, the requirements regarding remaining for 30 to 40 minutes at each residence. In approximately 10% of cases, visits can take up to 50 minutes due to medical histories that require a 30-minute observation period. We have also found that when the NAS has arrived at some locations, people have been vaccinated already. In other cases, the person concerned might have been admitted to a hospital or a nursing home. Unfortunately, in other cases, a couple of people have gone to their eternal reward, while others have decided they do not want the vaccine. At the same time, the NAS has gone to that particular house. However, I take on board what the Deputy said.

We will have an meeting in the next few days to see how we can expedite this. I want to highlight to the Deputy that nobody will be left behind. I know people are frustrated and angry. There probably has been a lack of information. We are telling people they will be got to, and they will be. At the same time, the National Ambulance Service is doing the best it can.

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