Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On Deputy Paul Murphy's question, there are three options for the extension of MetroLink on the south side. One is to go south-west to Terenure and Rathfarnham and potentially on to Tallaght; one is going up the green line, which will not be a viable option for a variety of different reasons; and one is going south-east to University College Dublin, UCD, Stillorgan and Sandyford, which would be able to address capacity issues on the green line. Whichever is the best option on transport and economic, social and community development terms will be the one that is picked. It is appropriate for that to be done within the review of the greater Dublin area transport strategy. The proposal, as developed by MetroLink, to extend beyond St. Stephen's Green, does not preclude any one of the options. It is better for us to go with the outlined proposal that has been 25 years in the making from TII and the National Transport Authority. Then, as a second development, we should look to extend further, either south-west or south-east, whichever is the more optimal option.

On Deputy Naughten's question, I commit that the next phase in the reopening has to include day care services, which are critical. If we can be successful, as we have been doing in our step-by-step and cautious but considered approach, I have every confidence that we will see those services restored. They are critical, not just for the health of individuals but also for their families. There are also all the other knock-on consequences of not having them available.

Deputy Patricia Ryan asked about microgeneration. We are in the final stages of preparing to deliver that and I expect it imminently. It will open up the possibility of being able to export and get a price for excess renewable power that people may have.

Deputy Tully mentioned the issues the pharmacies partaking in the vaccination programme are experiencing. That was set out by the vaccine task force, which has done a good job and it seems to be working well. Decisions on individual pharmacies were taken on the basis of having an appropriate network relative to the volume of vaccines that we had. If we saw a significant increase in vaccine supplies internationally, the task force would continue to review the situation. It has done almost 30 different iterations of the vaccine roll-out plan. That could include further online booking mechanisms. My understanding is that it is working well. The only problem we have is access to vaccines from the international environment. If that increased, our response on the ground would increase at the same time.

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