Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. I want to say at the outset that the objective, which we all share, is global distribution of the vaccine. That is important for two reasons, as we have discussed here previously. One is that it is ethical and absolutely the right thing to do and, second, it is in our interests. There is no point in Ireland or, indeed, the western world being vaccinated if much of the rest of the world takes several years. The only question is what is the best way to do it. Ireland is continuing our conversations on this as part of the EU. There are a few points worth making. The EU's current position is that the WTO's TRIPS Agreement already has significant flexibility in it. It allows compulsory licensing, which, as the Deputy will be aware, is when a government permits someone else to produce a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner. The EU's position is that this is catered for within the TRIPS Agreement.

There is an additional point to make, which is the question of what is stopping a very significant increase in manufacturing. Manufacturing capacity, access to raw materials and distribution networks, particularly around some of the vaccines that have to be stored at very low temperatures, are big issues. There are a lot of different options available, including possibly licensing agreements. We are continuing our discussions on this with the EU.

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