Results 35,581-35,600 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I would have to go back and check exactly what interview or statement the Deputy is talking about. As he has characterised that comment right now, it does not sound right to me but I am more than happy to look at what was said on the record and engage with him on it.

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I will get back to the Deputy with a detailed note. Regarding the daily updates, the Deputy should be receiving them. I have asked for that for every Member, so I will follow that up immediately.

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: If the Deputy is not receiving them, I will ensure that it is rectified. With regard to getting them online, they are being changed twice a week at present and we are moving quickly. I want to get the daily updates done and up as quickly as possible both on the data hub and on the app. I wish to make a point on the overpromising. I was asked for indicative timelines. In fairness, if...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: -----but I hope that it would not be mis-characterised as making promises. They are not promises but a genuine attempt to try to give people a sense of the type of timing we would like to see.

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes.

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his contribution and questions. I agree wholeheartedly with him that we need to get the information to people. There is a real hunger for it, particularly with regard to people over 70 years old. They are asking how it is going to happen and when they will be contacted. That information will be out shortly and much of it will come from GPs to their patients. There...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I wholeheartedly endorse and echo the Deputy's praise of the nursing homes and for those working in the nursing homes. I add my thanks to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who is taking the lead on nursing homes, and who is doing a fantastic job and working very closely with the nursing home sector to ensure that it gets whatever help we can give it. This is a really tough situation....

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Regarding updates on the volume of people, those figures are being provided. I will get the Deputy the information that has gone around but-----

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: They are provided publicly by the HSE. I have the figures to hand, but I will make sure the Deputy gets them. Regarding the healthcare workers, Deputy Kelly is right that I made that commitment to Deputy Duncan Smith. The HSE is working on that issue and as soon as I have the information, I will make it available to all Members.

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I will start at the end. I agree fully that there are older residential settings which do not come under the nursing home group, so they would not naturally fall into cohort 1. Most of them will come into cohort 2, which includes those people aged over 70 years old. We are starting with those over 85 years of age. We were only discussing this topic with the HSE this week to see what could...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: Do we have the full five minutes?

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I will respond to Deputy Murnane O'Connor in writing regarding those questions I do not get a chance to cover. Regarding the position with AstraZeneca, the European Commission is in active and pretty robust conversations with that company. Neither the Commission nor the company has yet been able to provide a firm delivery schedule for the second half of March. We are waiting on that...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for that question. With regard to the plan, my understanding is that is exactly what we will get into now and I will certainly endeavour to provide any answers. That is what we are here for. Hopefully, the Deputy is still getting the daily updates as I asked that every Oireachtas Member would get a daily update on the vaccination programme. We are making a big effort to...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I was responding to the Deputy’s statement, which he will appreciate we should all be able to do. As he quite rightly said, the figure of 700,000 was an effort to provide in an indicative target for the Oireachtas and it was, as he rightly referenced, heavily caveated and remains so. As the Deputy will recall from our interactions last week, I said that if we get the supply that has...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I am trying to answer that question for the Deputy. The figure of 700,000 was conditional on supply coming in, including from AstraZeneca. As we are all aware, AstraZeneca has, very frustratingly, signalled that it will not deliver the full amount that was anticipated. Of the 700,000, which referred to people rather than doses, included in that-----

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I am trying to answer the Deputy’s question. Included in that was an assumption for AstraZeneca of just a little bit less than 600,000 doses. Right now, the company is not committing to that 600,000 and we are in negotiations to see what we can get. The 700,000 figure is contingent on the supply that comes in, which is still under negotiation with the company.

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: At the moment the conversation and negotiation is still ongoing and quite a robust set of meetings are taking place between the Commission and the company, and the relevant officials are also in touch with the company, including from Ireland. At the moment, Ireland or any other EU state, or indeed the Commission, cannot say what the final agreed amount for the first quarter up to the end of...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully appreciate that I am being asked exactly the same questions. The answer is the same as last week. There is not a single cohort we can point to. Perhaps this is part of what needs further explanation. The clinical judgement from the HSE, as the Deputy said, is that those in the formal caring sector are in cohort 2 and that family carers as a group are not in any individual cohort....

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: On the first question regarding disability settings, what has been done so far and the target for last Sunday was that residents aged over 65 both in the mental health and disability long-term care settings would be vaccinated. That is being done. They are moving now on to the vaccination of the staff both in the mental health and the disability sector and this is happening this week. ...

Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (28 Jan 2021)

Stephen Donnelly: I will have to check whether the Moderna vaccine came in this week or last week because it is coming in every second week. The initial weeks for Pfizer was an agreement-----