Dáil debates

Thursday, 16 December 2021

Covid-19: Statements (Resumed)

 

2:55 pm

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and all his staff in Leinster House, at every level, for their great help and support throughout the year. I wish them all, and their families, a happy and peaceful Christmas.

I will concentrate on this afternoon's announcement by the Minister for Health that we will expedite the roll-out of the vaccine by opening vaccination centres for longer hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., which is very welcome. I have two provisos from a Limerick perspective. First, I am conscious that health staff are exhausted at present because of their long hours. I was very lucky and privileged to get my third Moderna vaccine shot in Scoil Carmel on O'Connell Avenue in Limerick city last Saturday morning. Staff there were highly efficient, courteous and professional. I could not speak highly enough of the service the staff rolled out. Scoil Carmel is in the city centre and does not have the same capacity as the vaccination centre at Limerick Racecourse.

It is against a backdrop where it is being rolled out exponentially by the GPs and pharmacists. Is the Minister satisfied there is sufficient capacity in Scoil Carmel to ensure the roll-out of the vaccine at speed? We are trying to get ahead of Omicron. It was 14% a day or two ago; it is now 27% and escalating at a rapid rate. To get ahead of it, we need resources. That is about personnel and capacity in vaccination centres. Is the Minister satisfied there is sufficient capacity at Scoil Carmel, in addition to the GPs and pharmacies, to ensure we get the vaccine out as quickly as possible?

We are coming into the Christmas period. If we are opening from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., we must set out clearly to the public when the centres are open. I noticed it will be a combination of walk-ins and appointments. It needs to be rolled out by the HSE, if it has not already done so, as to how it will work over the Christmas and new year period. Everyone wants to work to get ahead of the Omicron variant but HSE staff have been under constant pressure for a long time. Capacity at Scoil Carmel is not the same as at Limerick Racecourse. We need a plan and to explain to the public how to get appointments and what the walk-in clinics will be, spelled out down to the days of the week. I acknowledge that the roll-out of the most recent vaccination programme by the HSE in the mid-west has been excellent. There are no complaints. It is operated in an efficient manner.

The main thing at the moment is whether we will have sufficient personnel. We should be conscious that people will need time off with their families over Christmas, that the capacity at Scoil Carmel is not as high as that at Limerick Racecourse and that the public must be fully aware of how it will operate over Christmas. It looks as if, from listening to the experts, this Omicron variant is more virulent than Delta or any of the others. It is creeping through the community at an unmerciful and rapid rate. We must get ahead of it. The right decision is being made by Government. We must have the capacity and personnel but we are coming into the Christmas period and I am conscious of the human toll on HSE staff giving vaccinations and on GPs and pharmacists and their staff.

We need a roll-out programme. What I want to see over the coming days, if it is not already in place, is 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., how people can get appointments, where the walk-ins are, where the capacity will be and, if there is a need for additional capacity, how we can upscale faster so that when we come to new year, we are ahead of the Omicron variant. It is not easy but it is extremely important that we do it.

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