Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am frustrated about this too, but not in any way as frustrated as someone who is pregnant or their partner must be when it comes to this issue, which has been going on for a long time. Our vaccine programme is an extraordinary success, with more than 90% of over-16s fully vaccinated and the number of cases stable, albeit still high. We are on track to open the remaining parts of our economy and society on 22 October, including the ending of restrictions and capacity limits in hospitality and the opening of nightclubs. In that context, it is hard to understand why we cannot have a return to normal when it comes to partners visiting pregnant women in hospital. This is something that I will discuss with the Minister for Health. I will probably see him today or the next day and I will let him know that the Deputy raised this matter again.

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