Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and Ministers of State for taking questions this morning. Recent indications suggest that the roll-out is continuing at pace, with more than 2.5 million vaccinations now having been administered and with more than 45% of all adults having received their first jab. Hopefully, that figure will have reached 50% by next week. It is most encouraging. As the Minister stated, it is a testament to doctors, nurses, GPs and all those involved in this great national effort to bring us out of the Covid pandemic.

While all the indications are positive, we should be careful to note that only 15% of adults have received their second dose and are therefore fully vaccinated. We should be cautious over the next few short weeks until the majority of people have been fully vaccinated. This will allow us to accelerate the reopening, while being reassured that people who have been fully vaccinated are well protected against all known variants. I understand that almost 300,000 people were vaccinated last week and a similar number are expected to be vaccinated this week. I heard what the Minister said about being cautious around the delivery of supply. We have been here before, unfortunately, and it is out of our control. Hopefully, we will see the target of 400,000 vaccinations administered being hit in June and July, dependent on deliveries, of course.

In the time remaining, I have three short questions for the Minister. The first concerns the opening of the vaccine booking portal for those aged 40 to 44. I heard this morning that a choice may be offered to those in that cohort. I ask the Minister to elaborate on that.

The Minister mentioned the 38th vaccination centre being located in UCD, which I welcome. I thank the Minister for listening to the concerns of those in the south-east Dublin region. I ask the Minister to indicate when that centre is due to open.

Finally, I wish to raise a point that I have raised with the Minister previously. It concerns the statutory instruments and restrictions on safe events such as drive-in movies and drive-in bingo. I see that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler is present in the Chamber. I thank her for attendance. Another issue about which I am passionate is the opening of day care centres. Many of the staff of these centres have been vaccinated, as have certain cohorts who work there in other capacities. Perhaps the Minister will elaborate on when those centres will reopen.

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