Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister even though I am one of the people who was quite critical in the very beginning of how the Covid pandemic was handled. I have always believed this could have been given to another Minister. Health is too big a portfolio. We needed a Minister responsible for vaccination and Covid-19 to support the Minister for Health in his role. Nevertheless, he has done a remarkably good job. He has certainly taken criticism on board as it was meant to be taken.

Thirty-seven vaccination centres are operating seven days a week. While people are heralding the 300,000 figure - and I thank everybody involved in that - we are looking at 1,600 people vaccinated per day in each of those centres. If that is broken down to 12 hours a day, it is 97 people per hour. My main criticism is about why we are not using the pharmacies. Why are they waiting? They have the capacity to deliver. Pharmacists are trained, experienced vaccinators and they are ready to start vaccinating. Community pharmacists have the capacity to administer at least 50,000 Covid-19 vaccines per week. They can help the Government reach its ambitious targets. More than 1,200 pharmacists have submitted expressions of interest to the HSE to participate in the vaccination programme. Some 2,000 fully-trained vaccinators are ready to go.

More than half the Irish population live within 1 km of a pharmacy while 85% live within 5 km of one. Yet people in rural communities are being asked to travel significant distances to vaccination centres. As there is only one vaccination centre in all of County Galway, for a person from Ballyconneely in Connemara it is a 3.5 hour round trip to get to the vaccination centre in Ballybrit. People in my county of Meath are being sent all over the place, to Louth, Dublin, Cavan and Westmeath. Why are people in rural areas being asked to travel, often long distances, when they can get vaccinated in their own communities? By allowing pharmacists to vaccinate it is made easier, convenient and local for people.

I want to know the reason for this delay. In December 2020, the Government's national Covid-19 vaccination strategy and implementation plan identified community pharmacists as having a central role in the vaccination roll-out along with GPs and mass vaccination centres. In January 2021, an agreement was reached with the Irish Pharmacy Union, IPU, as with the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, on the fees to be paid to community pharmacists for administering the vaccine. In February 2021, it was announced that GPs alone would vaccinate the over-70s; no clinical reason was given for this decision. In March and April 2021, the Minister consistently stated that pharmacists would partake in community vaccinations but in May 2021, with mass roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine under way, people were still unable to be vaccinated by local pharmacists. No reasons were given for this delay. The Taoiseach, the Minister, the CEO of the HSE and the chair of the vaccine task force have all consistently stated that community pharmacists will be involved. However, here we are in May and we still have no idea when or if they will be rolled out.

The reopening of Ireland's economy and society depends on the pace of the vaccine roll-out. Some 2,000 vaccinators are ready and waiting to roll out the vaccine in 1,200 pharmacies in their communities. The vaccination recruitment programme closes tomorrow at 12 noon. Can that deadline be extended? Some 1,200 pharmacists want to partake in helping their country out but they cannot register as vaccinators on a Saturday or Sunday. At this moment in time, they cannot volunteer to do that. Why do people who have had two vaccinations have to wait until 19 July to be allowed to leave this country?