Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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700. To ask the Minister for Health if he will nationalise private hospitals to prevent an overrun due to Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3759/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Following the termination of the agreement with private hospitals in June last year, the Government mandated the HSE to seek a new agreement with the private hospitals to provide the HSE with access to the private hospitals’ capacity in the event of a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The HSE has agreed a new safety net arrangement with all 18 private hospitals. They have signed Service Level Agreements to provide additional hospital capacity to the HSE, to deal with the current surge in Covid-19 cases and any further surges in the pandemic, if they arise within the next 12 months.

Under the arrangement, the hospitals have agreed to supply, depending on the incidence of the disease, up to 15% or 30% of their capacity. The HSE will be responsible for invoking the safety net arrangement. The decision will be determined on the basis of any one of three metrics which objectively indicate that a Covid-19 surge event is imminent or present. These metrics cover the level of community transmission, the number of hospital beds in the public system occupied by Covid-19 patients and the number of ICU beds in the public system occupied by Covid-19 patients. The agreement provides that the HSE shall exit the arrangement when the surge ceases. This will also be determined by metrics covering the level of community transmission, the number of hospital beds in the public system occupied by Covid-19 patients and the number of ICU beds in the public system occupied by Covid-19 patients.

The agreement also provides for additional capacity over the 30% to be made available by mutual agreement between the HSE and any of the hospitals.

The additional capacity provided by the private hospitals is critical to enabling the public health system cope with large scale surges in the incidences of the disease. It is intended to use the capacity of the private hospitals for urgent, time-dependant and complex care.

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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701. To ask the Minister for Health if he will prioritise members of Community First Responders to receive the vaccine in order that they can resume their valuable service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3761/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy sets out a provisional list of groups for vaccination. The Strategy was developed by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) and my Department, endorsed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), and approved by Government on 8 December 2020.

Vaccine allocation is a matter for my Department and further information is available here: .

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is the responsibility of the HSE.

The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to ensure, over time, that vaccine will become available to vaccinate all of those for whom the vaccine is indicated. Given that there will be initially limited vaccines available, it will take some time for all to receive those vaccines and that has necessitated an allocation strategy to ensure that those most at risk of death and serious illness receive the vaccine first.

The priority is to first vaccinate and protect directly the most vulnerable amongst us, that is, those most likely to have a poor outcome if they contract the virus. The priority is to directly use vaccines to save lives and reduce serious illness, hence the focus on the over 65 year old cohort in long term residential care facilities, and healthcare workers in frontline services often caring for the most vulnerable.

All of the groups will be covered as further vaccine supplies become available and the immunisation programme is rolled out nationally.

The evidence will be kept under review and the allocation groups may be updated, where necessary, in light of new evidence.

Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) in direct patient contact roles will be vaccinated in Group 2. This includes HCWs working in public, private, and voluntary settings. Other HCWs, not in direct patient contact, will be vaccinated in Group 4.

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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702. To ask the Minister for Health if he will prioritise funeral directors and their staff to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in order that they can continue their essential service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3762/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy sets out a provisional list of groups for vaccination. The Strategy was developed by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) and my Department, endorsed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), and approved by Government on 8 December 2020.

Vaccine allocation is a matter for my Department and further information is available here: .

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is the responsibility of the HSE.

The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to ensure, over time, that vaccine will become available to vaccinate all of those for whom the vaccine is indicated. Given that there will be initially limited vaccines available, it will take some time for all to receive those vaccines and that has necessitated an allocation strategy to ensure that those most at risk of death and serious illness receive the vaccine first.

The priority is to first vaccinate and protect directly the most vulnerable amongst us, that is, those most likely to have a poor outcome if they contract the virus. The priority is to directly use vaccines to save lives and reduce serious illness, hence the focus on the over 65 year old cohort in long term residential care facilities, and healthcare workers in frontline services often caring for the most vulnerable.

All of the groups will be covered as further vaccine supplies become available and the immunisation programme is rolled out nationally.

The evidence will be kept under review and the allocation groups may be updated, where necessary, in light of new evidence.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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703. To ask the Minister for Health if he will amend statutory instrument 296/2020 to make the wearing of face coverings mandatory in banks, credit unions and post office premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3766/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputies are no doubt aware, a person, without reasonable excuse, must wear a face covering when using public transport, in retail outlets, shops and shopping centres, in other indoor spaces such as libraries, cinemas and cinema complexes, theatres, concert halls, bingo halls, museums, businesses carrying out cosmetic nail care or nail styling, hair care or hair styling, tattoo and piercing services, travel agents and tour operators, laundries and dry cleaners and licensed bookmakers.

The regulations relating to face coverings have recently been amended to include post offices, credit unions and banks.

The relevant Regulations in relation to face coverings which remain in place until 9 June, 2021 can be found at:

The current advice in relation to face coverings is available at - and