Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I too would like to raise serious questions in regard to the "Prime Time" programme last night. There must be a public inquiry in regard to what happened in nursing homes last year in the interests of the loved ones and relatives and in the public interest. It is inevitable that that will happen.

Vaccine roll-out is a logistical challenge.

This country has been quite good in administering the roll-out. It is going very well. My experience at Citywest was excellent. The Minister's statement about the roll-out of the vaccine for the cohort aged between 18 and 35 is very welcome. Many in this cohort work in the hospitality industry and could be vulnerable at this moment or in the future to any counteroffensive from the virus, such as the Delta variant. There was sombre news during the week when NPHET gave its advice. It probably shocked most people in the country to hear that we could be facing the deaths of up to 2,000 people over the next three to four months. Anybody would have been shocked by that news. We have an advantage, which is that we can see what is happening in Britain. In some ways, Britain is four to six weeks ahead of Ireland. Its vaccine roll-out programme is probably four to six weeks ahead. One can see the trajectory of the virus. It is not plateauing by any means, it is actually going up and at a rapid pace. The good news is that the vaccine roll-out is being run really well in Britain but the Delta variant is taking hold. That is very important.

I have another criticism, which relates to the handling of the cohort aged between 60 and 69. It was a mistake to leave a gap of, in some cases, three months between vaccinations for this cohort. I am fully vaccinated but somebody who is 20 years older than me still is not. That was a big mistake. I know this is being addressed but the ambiguity around the mixing of vaccines as it relates to this age group still has not been cleared up. It is very important that happens quickly.

I have another question, the answer to which the Minister can send me in a note. It relates to a cohort of Irish citizens who are living in Abu Dhabi. They may contact the Minister with regard to their situation. There are 2,000 Irish citizens living in Abu Dhabi, most of whom working in the education sector. They have got a vaccine made by Sinopharm. They are fully vaccinated but, if they want to come back to Ireland, they have to go into mandatory hotel quarantine. They are unhappy about that because at the time, a number of months ago, this was the only vaccine available to them. At this moment, if they wanted to come back to Ireland, they would have to go into mandatory hotel quarantine, which they believe is very unfair. I hope the Minister could address that at some point in the future.

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