Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Deputies opposite a very happy Christmas. I am off to the European Union Council meeting tomorrow, so I may not get the opportunity to do so then. I wish the Ceann Comhairle a happy Christmas and thank him for all his facilitation during the year and his tolerance and patience. I hope it can last another session. I thank the ushers, the Captain of the Guard and the team here for their co-operation and guidance during a very difficult situation in relation to Covid-19.

In response to Deputy McDonald's questions, I want to start by thanking everybody involved in the vaccination programme. I pay tribute to those who have led it from the beginning. It is one of the most successful programmes in the world in terms of the first and second primary doses, which have given significant protection to the population against severe disease and illness. I thank the general practitioners in respect of the booster campaign. GPs have moved very quickly from the outset in respect of the older age cohorts, those with underlying conditions and with healthcare workers. I thank the pharmacists and vaccinators across all the different centres. I wish to make the general point that the vaccine booster programme commenced on 4 October 2021, following advice from the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, to go ahead in advance of that. We are currently fourth in Europe on the administration of the booster thanks to the efforts of all involved.

The arrival of the Omicron variant does lend considerable urgency to this, given the rapidity at which it spreads. It has been designated a variant of concern for about three weeks. We have been in touch with public officials at the office of the CMO, who are concerned. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, ECDC, is concerned at the rapid spread of Omicron, and that it has a significant advantage over Delta in terms of its infectiousness. That is a concern.

However, the Deputy should be in no doubt that we have been working with the HSE public officials in terms of expanding and extending further the vaccination programme. There are three essential channels: the vaccination centres, the GP surgeries, and the pharmacies. Discussions have been under way with the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, for example, in terms of GPs throughout the country being able to do more, if possible. To be fair to them, they have done a fair degree of vaccinations in the booster campaign so far. Those engagements have been taking place. There is a generally good response. Those in the primary care system want to respond and to be of assistance to the country at this particular juncture, with the arrival of the new variant. We know the booster gives significant additional protection against Omicron. That is the general view of public health officials and the expertise that it will give cellular immunity against Omicron. That is the general view and belief right now in terms of preventing severe disease and admissions to hospitals, which is the key agenda and objective of the booster vaccination programme.

There were some operational systems issues. However, in my view, we have to look at this in balance and perspective. They were not the key issue. The key issue now is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can. That means extending the opening hours of the vaccination centres and expanding the roll out in the other two channels, utilising our primary care system through GPs and pharmacies. We are going to utilise all capacity at our disposal. We have administered 1.25 million doses between third doses and the booster, which gives the vital older age cohorts significant protection in the time ahead.

See this speech in context