Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion.

I thank the Minister of State. I also thank Senator Higgins, who has shown great leadership and come from a place of being a global citizen and of caring deeply about everybody around the world, not just ourselves. It will be hard for anybody in this House to match her knowledge, experience and passion. We should all listen carefully to what she is saying about this.

We will hear much debate about the TRIPS waiver, many statistics and arguments, and references to complex trade agreements. In the short time I have, I will try to be clear. There is a virus, there are victims of that virus, and there is a vaccine. It is as simple as that. When I speak about victims, I do so in the broadest possible terms. I am speaking of those who have died, their families and communities, not only in Ireland but also across the rest of the world. What Senator Higgins said made it so real. She asked us to imagine what it would be like if we were sitting here if some other country had the solution and we could not gain access to it. It is as simple as that for us, and it should be that simple for everybody.

What will be made clear this evening is the fact that, more often than not, suffering is not innocent. While we may all be experiencing Covid to a greater or lesser extent, it has not excused or stopped us from condemning others. There are victims of Covid and many more millions of victims of our policy choices. The latter do not have to die from Covid. We are making a policy choice not to give them access to the vaccine. Our choices and policy decisions are what people fall victim to in the global south.

Only two days ago the Minister for Health announced that the gap between booster shots will be reduced to three months, which is welcome news, but it tends to jar when considered alongside recent WHO research that found six times more booster shots are being administered daily around the world than primary vaccine doses in low-income countries. It does not have to be like this. After all, when we think about what the word "pandemic" means in Greek — "all people" — we realise it impacts all people. Therefore, all people should have access to the same solution. This is implied in the term "pandemic". This is highlighted by the fact that researchers have indicated that the Omicron variant originated in areas with low vaccine-access rates. It is for this very clear and simple reason that more than 400 leading scientists and medical professionals, including Professor Luke O'Neill, Professor Clíona Ní Cheallaigh and Professor Sam McConkey, signed a public statement earlier this month urging the Government to support the TRIPS waiver.

Throughout the first lockdown, I read Albert Camus's classic The Plague. I realised we have not really evolved very much and that we have been here before. The story has already been told. One quote I took from the book was, "It may seem a ridiculous idea, but the only way to fight the plague is with decency."What we are seeing here in the context of the counter-motion and the refusal to sign the TRIPS waiver is a lack of real and honest human decency and it is wrong.