Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and Minister of State for their response and action in increasing resources to improve speed of delivery of vaccines to housebound people. They will recall that I raised the matter some weeks ago. One of the affected individuals, Mr. Joe Kenneally from Kilshanny in County Clare, has received his first dose of the vaccine. His family members are very thankful and they want to convey their thanks to the Minister and the National Ambulance Service for the care, courtesy and attention they showed to Joe when the vaccine was delivered.

I raise the question of fully vaccinated persons being permitted to travel into Ireland without having to quarantine in hotels. There is much demand, particularly from markets like the US, and fully vaccinated people want to travel to Ireland. There is also the specific matter of the large cohort of Irish people who live in Dubai and who want to come home to Ireland for the summer. They are fully vaccinated with a different vaccine, Sinopharm. Will the Minister update the House on the position of people who have received that vaccination? When will it be approved by the European Medicines Agency and in Ireland?

The first cohort of people vaccinated comprised front-line workers, including nurses and doctors. That was right. Nurses have led the charge in the fight against Covid-19 for the past 14 or 15 months. I request that the Minister and the Government look at trying to give some due recognition to nurses. I propose that the Government look at the registration fee for nurses. They currently pay an annual registration fee and I ask the Government to consider introducing a reform so a registration fee would be paid just once on qualification. I ask the Government also to examine seriously the unwinding of the additional hours from the Haddington Road agreement in recognition of the work that nurses have done throughout the pandemic.

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