Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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310. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the level of support through bilateral development aid and multilateral development funds and instruments being provided to developing countries and least developed countries in order for same to obtain and dispense the Covid-19 vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4986/21]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland is fully supporting efforts by the international community, including as an EU Member State, to ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines for all. The Government quadrupled funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2020, given its role as lead UN agency for health and co-host of the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which has the COVAX facility as a centrepiece. COVAX is supporting 92 low and middle-income countries access Covid-19 vaccines.

Vaccine supply constraints remain an issue, particularly for low-income countries. In response to this, the Irish Aid allocation to global health will increase to at least €50 million in 2021, to include support for global equitable access to vaccines through WHO and the COVAX facility.

Also included in this is funding of €15 million to the Global Fund to end AIDS, TB and Malaria, and €3 million to Gavi - supporting our partner multilateral agencies, sustaining health systems and ensuring attention to other diseases including HIV and AIDS, Malaria and TB. Ireland also continues to support key partner multilateral agencies, such as UNICEF and multilateral development banks, who are also playing an important part in the global response to the pandemic.

Irish Missions in partner countries will in the meantime be working alongside the WHO and other health partners to support the vaccine roll-out effort, which will face further challenges given limited health systems capacity in many countries.