Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I reject the suggestion that vaccine hesitancy and distribution mechanisms are the main obstacles here. The fact that these countries have not been able to have public heath vaccine programmes has been a key obstacle and they have not been able to have public health programmes on an organised basis because they have not had a reliable supply of vaccines. I reject the Minister of State's suggestion profoundly. I note there is some progress being made but the problem is that we are still stalling for months. This time last year, we were hearing about an EU proposal that did not work, which just moved around the pieces in the existing TRIPS agreement. Flexibility is not the same as a waiver. I am very concerned that it looks like diagnostics and therapeutics, which are the crucial other part for those who have suffered from Covid-19 due to the neglect of the global north, are still being put on the long finger. We need to do more and better. Is Ireland taking the side of those seeking to strengthen these proposals in the negotiations, or is it joining the voices seeking to weaken them?