Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Most people are saying it is great to be back here. The only advantage I have in the convention centre is nobody notices when I walk about. I am not good at staying in one place.

We are dealing with an incredibly serious issue. I would be happier if it was questions and answers. I accept the situation we are in and recognise the tragedy the Covid pandemic has been for many families. We have heard the shocking figure of 5,000 this week. My heart goes out to all those families. We believed we were in a slightly better place but the conversation changed in recent weeks to the Delta variant.

There should have been preparation for the fact this week would not be what we anticipated in relation to opening up but we are where we are. I welcome the change to the NIAC guidelines. We need as much clarity as possible on the revised timelines for the vaccine roll-out. I think it was Tony Holohan who said it was a race of the Delta variant versus the vaccination roll-out. We need that to happen as soon as possible.

Many Deputies have spoken about the difficulties in relation to those in the 60- to 69-year-old cohort who have not got their second vaccination. We have all been contacted by people in this cohort who are worried and probably annoyed that younger people ended up being vaccinated earlier. We welcome the clarity that those people should be dealt with in the next fortnight. I think 12 July is the date given. We need to ensure this happens. We welcome the changed guidelines for 18- to 34-year-olds. We need to ensure the systems are up and running as soon as possible. We cannot have a two-tier society comprising those who have been offered vaccinations and those who have not. We need to streamline this as much as possible.

We are all living with a variant and see the difficulties that will arise until we deal with a global vaccination programme. COVAX will only look at 20% of people in the developing world so that will not work. We have to look at the TRIPS waiver and whatever else is necessary. None of us is safe until all of us are safe.

I add my voice to what Deputies have said about "Prime Time Investigates" and families that have gone through so much. We have had multiple reports into weaknesses in how we look after our old people and the whole system. We know the issues in relation to the Covid period. I think everyone is in agreement that there needs to be an inquiry into that period, particularly regarding nursing homes and what the State did or did not do. The Minister will not be shocked, having met the Dealgan House families. He knows the tragedy, the huge loss of life and the impact on a huge number of families who are still looking for answers.

At this point, I can only see the answer being a full public inquiry. There is a huge number of players and everybody has a right to their narrative. We need this to be interrogated completely, involving nursing home management in Dealgan, HIQA, the MEP who was involved in some of the interactions, the HSE, CHO 8, the Minister for Health at the time, the CMO, the CEO and the head of community operations of the HSE and the RCSI Hospital Group. Everyone has a part to play. We need a full inquiry. I would like the Minister to return to the families. He has told them they need to be given some mechanism to provide answers and an inquiry is the only way to do it.

See this speech in context