Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have two questions for the Minister of State. The first relates to the TRIPS waiver on vaccines and the second relates to COVAX. Have we pushed for a TRIPS waiver within the European Council and the other bodies in which we operate? If we have, what are the blockages? Rather than saying to the Minister of State that we are wrong for doing this, that or whatever, my question is how we might dismantle some of those blockages. How can we move this forward? I am interested in his view but if we had a TRIPS waiver on vaccines, it would act as a catalyst for the global production of vaccines, not just in this pandemic but for what we might face in future. It is not just about now. What is the Minister of State's opinion on that?

My second question relates to COVAX, which the Taoiseach mentioned earlier, including our support for it, etc. As I said, just today COVAX indicated it cannot distribute any more vaccines because it does not have money to buy syringes or other basic necessary accoutrements. What is being done to deal with that and the fact that the WHO is calling for more funds? My main interest now is COVAX and what is being done right now so it can distribute the vaccines it has.

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