Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ireland's vaccination campaign has been a great national success. Almost all adults have been vaccinated and we have the highest rate in Europe. Great credit is due to everybody involved, particularly front-line staff in the HSE centres, nurses, GPs and pharmacists. The national immunisation advisory committee's recommendation that every adult should be offered a third dose of vaccine is very welcome. We have seen the impact of boosters in both the UK and Israel. Almost 880,000 people in this country have received a booster, which is very positive news. However, we have seen issues with long queues at some HSE centres, which it is hoped will be resolved very quickly. People with underlying conditions are currently eligible to receive their booster dose from their GP. However, this may not be an option for them as many GPs are not offering boosters to those aged under 70 years. Many people cannot access the HSE walk-in clinics and they report having difficulty making bookings at pharmacies. This is making it very challenging for people with underlying conditions, some of which are quite serious, to access the booster programme. Will the Tánaiste raise this matter with the Minister for Health? How does he see the booster campaign progressing over the coming weeks?

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