Results 14,721-14,740 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Staff (10 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: HSE Agency Staff (10 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (10 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: The COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy sets out a provisional list of groups for vaccination. The Strategy was developed by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) and my Department, endorsed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), and approved by Government on 8 December 2020. Vaccine allocation is a matter for my Department of Health and further information is...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ministerial Meetings (10 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Since 21 October 2020, I have had a significant level of engagement with the 221+ Patient Representative Group, working with the Group to progress issues they had raised in respect of the CervicalCheck Tribunal and CervicalCheck cases more generally. This engagement included a number of meetings as well as detailed constructive correspondence on the issues raised. Significant progress was...

Health (Parliamentary Oversight of Certain Instruments Relating to Covid-19) Bill 2021: First Stage (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: No.

Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill 2021: First Stage (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: No.

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I will be sharing time with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. It has been 44 days since the first Covid-19 vaccine was administered in Ireland. Since Annie Lynch received her vaccine on 29 December, more than 240,000 vaccines have been administered. The programme is a significant logistical challenge and the focus of thousands of people, who are transporting and administering the...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his question. As he will be aware, we will start on Monday with those aged 85 and older and then we are going from 80 to 84, 75 to 79, and then 70 to 74. These are the tiers within which we are doing this. This starts on Monday and the schedule I have suggests that the group will have finished its second doses by mid-May, but, as always, these things are dependent...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: If the Deputy does not mind, I will briefly return to those aged over 70 years and older. The timelines were we discussing before the decision on the mRNA vaccines had the end of March as the date when the administration of the first doses would have been complete, but because we are using the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and the supplies are different, that process has lengthened...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: It is one of the most important questions with which we are dealing in the vaccination programme at present. I have asked the Department of Health and NIAC to take a look at the prioritisation. Given what we know now about the vaccines and that the programme is under way, I do not think we can often make changes to the prioritisation list. If we are making changes, I think we will probably...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Very briefly, as part of that same exercise I just referred to involving those with underlying medical conditions, we are looking at this exact issue as well. I refer to key workers, essential workers and so forth.

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: What I can give the Deputy is the delivery schedule, which I asked for just before we came in. As of Sunday, the total number of vaccine doses which have come in is 272,000, and I will get a breakdown for the Deputy concerning those three vaccines which have come in so far.

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: On the first question from Deputy Kelly, I will be led by the clinical advice on that issue but I am certainly very open to doing just what the Deputy has suggested. The transport of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines must be done in a very precise way. It is not possible, for example, to have a GP put those vaccines in the back of his or her car and drive around the hills of Tipperary or...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, absolutely. The validated data show an efficacy of 58% or 59%. The Oxford trials, for example, have that figure as a little bit higher. I believe the UK is about to publish field data, which may be higher again. We must keep all of that under review. If we find out that the effectiveness changes, which is updated based on more and more information, then we absolutely have to update...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I will ask Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to answer Deputy Kelly's question on those who live in assisted living. With regard to GPs, the answer is "Yes". One of the principles is that we do not waste any doses. If a GP has 20 doses available and has 16 people who are 85 years old or over, it would make sense for the GP to bring in some of the next group for exactly that reason. On the...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: The Deputy's statement on the roll-out is correct. For the first few days it was based on the four pilots. That was done in response to very clear advice from the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, as to how they wanted it rolled out for the first week or so. Then the HSE contacted the various hospital groups and distributed vaccine based initially on their capacity to...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: It is a really good question. The scientific and medical community cannot answer it yet because the vaccines are being administered for the very first time. There are several unknowns at the moment including the impact on transmissibility, more detail on the effectiveness and the duration of protection, as referred to by Deputy O'Donnell. Those things are not known right now. It could be...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: The national immunisation advisory committee is looking very closely at people who are undergoing dialysis along with many other vulnerable people with underlying conditions. It will report back to the Department of Health, and the Chief Medical Officer and his team will consider that. We will decide if it is appropriate at that stage to make some changes. Regarding carers, there is no...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: My understanding is that the contractors who are working in the HSE are included. For example, we are not differentiating between a doctor or a nurse who works in a HSE hospital and those working in a private hospital or a nursing home, the vast majority of which are private. To the best of my knowledge, no distinction has been made between public and private, which is the right thing to...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (11 Feb 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I will get the Deputy a written reply to the specific case she mentioned. I will make two quick points on the ventilators. The Deputy and I, along with other Deputies in the Chamber, were very much involved in asking the HSE to do at the time whatever it took to get these ventilators in. We all remember the enormous pressure for PPE, ventilators and so forth. I have no doubt that there...