Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Very good. I do not doubt the Minister of State.

I note that Deputy Boyd Barrett has a copy of the same letter that I am about to reference. The Taoiseach would also have received a copy of the letter from the People's Vaccine Alliance Ireland concerning the TRIPS waiver. Would that we were able to say that Covid is in the rear-view mirror in this country but unfortunately, it has caught up with us again. In a worldwide context, we are moving inexorably towards 5 million lives lost to Covid. In Africa, less than 5% of people have been fully vaccinated while we move towards 90% and beyond of our adult population. The letter argues that the global crisis of vaccine inequity is evident and is not only morally unacceptable but also pragmatically self-defeating if we are to bring Covid-19 under control. The argument is that we are not safe until everybody is safe and I fully agree. The TRIPS waiver, while not a silver bullet, as I have said repeatedly on the floor of the Dáil, should be part of the solution and the discussion. If the TRIPS waiver provision that was written into the WTO rules is not for now, why is it there? It should be up for discussion again at the European Council meeting.

See this speech in context