David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I fully accept that according to what is in front of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, this is a statements-only session. However, any time that we have had exchanges on the vaccine roll-out, it has been a questions-and-answers session and I have always used that facility because we have questions to ask and we need answers to those questions. It is not a productive use of anyone's time for Members to stand up and make long statements when people are asking us questions they want us to put to the Minister but we are not then going to get a response. I presume the Minister will say that he will forward such responses to us but it always has been much better to have an interaction, to go over and back and to get information in real-time. Statements are not the way to go. It was obviously the Government that decided this for whatever reason but it is not the way to proceed.

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