Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not think anyone would have anticipated that we would find ourselves in such a precarious and difficult position again this Christmas after the shocking situation last Christmas and January. We are contending with consistently high case numbers as well as the arrival of the Omicron variant, which is wreaking havoc in other jurisdictions.

The first issue I want to raise is testing. It applies in every county, but in Louth there is still an ad hocresponse to demand. There have been pop-up test centres for a few days here and there, but these are not publicised for some strange reason. Given that they only operate sporadically, it has been quite confusing for people in recent weeks. Due to the surge we are currently experiencing and the arrival of the latest variant, it is time we had two full testing centres in Louth until such time as numbers fall again.

The matter of boosters also needs to be addressed. I checked the HSE website a couple of hours ago. In Louth, booster walk-in clinics are only being scheduled for three hours a day today and tomorrow for those aged over 60 and for three hours a day for three days next week for those aged over 50. The Minister referred to extended times, and I will monitor the website to see if it is updated to reflect that comment. People are reporting difficulties in getting an appointment in local pharmacies in Louth. Boosters have been offered in 700 pharmacies this week, an increase of 150 on last week, which is good, but is still well short of the thousand pharmacies that participated in the first vaccine roll-out. There are 1,900 pharmacies in the State, and it is vital that more come on board given the urgency the new variant has caused. I am also concerned that the pace up until now has been far too slow. It is not today or yesterday that we learned that everyone will need a third dose. By my calculations, we are 15% behind where we were in June during the first vaccine roll-out.

The Minister for Health said that plans to increase capacity are gathering pace, but the urgency only began this week and it is frustrating at this stage of the pandemic that basic public health efforts such as the booster jab are still slow to get off the ground. Another issue that needs to be resolved is updating vaccine passes for those who receive boosters to ensure their stated vaccine status is correctly reflected in their vaccine pass. We need clarity on the current status of that and when we can expect it to be completed. I have heard no clarification whatsoever about that to date.

Schools are another issue. The Government's response to dealing with Covid-19 in schools has been shambolic, to say the least. Finally, there is some recognition of the need for HEPA filters, but why does it take several weeks, or indeed several months, for everything to happen with the Government? There are parents who will not send their children to school next week because they worry about them contracting Covid before Christmas. If parents had any confidence in schools being safe environments for children, this would not happen. The Government needs to get a handle on this and listen to parents, teachers and experts in ventilation in terms of managing our schools.

See this speech in context