Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for raising this topic and affording me the opportunity to address the House about this important issue. I have listened carefully and agree with many of the points raised by the Senators. As they are aware, the WTO ministerial conference is ongoing and concludes today in Geneva. This is the major decision-making forum for the WTO and the intention is that the intellectual property aspects can be agreed as part of the broader WTO trade-related response to the pandemic. A draft ministerial decision on the TRIPS agreement is under intense discussion by ministers with the aim of finding a solution that will be acceptable to all WTO members. This draft decision offers the most promising path towards achieving a meaningful outcome that will contribute to ensuring access to safe and effective vaccines across the globe. The decision provides for a waiver and clarification of some of the flexibilities within the TRIPS agreement. If agreed, the proposal will address the concerns of South Africa and developing countries and will allow them to immediately authorise the manufacture, import and export of Covid-19 vaccines without the consent of the patent owners. At the same time, the solution maintains a functioning intellectual property framework, which is crucial to incentivise the investment and research that is necessary for the development of new vaccines and medicines.

The EU believes the proposal represents the most promising path toward achieving a meaningful outcome among all WTO members. As a member of the EU, Ireland will continue to engage constructively with the European Commission and other member states on the EU position on the discussions at the ministerial conference. It is also important to highlight that there are now sufficient vaccines for everybody in the world, including for booster campaigns. Vaccine supply currently exceeds demand. Vaccine producers have highlighted that the demand for vaccines has declined significantly. In late February, the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention called for a pause in vaccine donations to Africa until the end of the year, noting that supply was no longer the main challenge. Rather, logistics, infrastructure, and vaccine hesitancy are the main barriers.