Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On 30 November I stood in the House and called for all the resources of the State to be deployed to deliver the third vaccine dose, also known as the booster. I looked for pharmacies, especially those in rural areas, to be facilitated to open late, for the Defence Forces to be used where appropriate and for any possible resources needed in order to get booster jabs into people as quickly as possible. This happened in Israel and that country has a completely different narrative in terms of a third or fourth wave when compared to what we have. Of course, we are now talking about doing it but it is two to three weeks later. What concerns me is whether the Government listens at all to what is being said in the Seanad. I thought the proposal I made, which was supported by colleagues across the House, was very sensible. Had it been acted on then the talking would now be over and people would be getting more vaccines. We are now in a situation where the authorities are coming out with a plan this week but it will be Christmas week before it will be scaled up to the level it should have been scaled up to two weeks ago. I do not blame the people in the HSE and I certainly do not blame the people on the front line who are doing their level best to inoculate people and give them their third dose. However, there must be some accountability from the Minister and departmental officials for the foot-dragging.

I wonder also what has changed in a day or two with NIAC, in that suddenly the dose interval has gone from five months to three months even though this has happened internationally already. Why are we always behind the curve? Why are we not front and centre? Surely to God, at this stage of the pandemic when we are nearly two years in we have learned, or we should have, that what happens in England will happen in Ireland two or three weeks later because we are inextricably tied to the Border with Northern Ireland and because there is such free movement between our two islands. What happens in England and in Northern Ireland happens in the south of Ireland. There might be a delay of a couple of weeks but it happens.It is time we got in front of the curve rather than being constantly behind it. We must be ambitious and liberal in what we do to fight the pandemic, not careful and conservative.