Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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371. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on C-Tap as outlined in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24698/21]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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My Department continues to support global efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the €50 million in Irish Aid funding to global health in 2021, €5 million is channeled to direct support to COVID-19 vaccination, including through COVAX. COVAX has secured options on 3.56 billion doses of vaccines and is beginning to deliver results, with over 54 million COVID-19 vaccines delivered to 121 participants countries.

The sharing of technology on vaccines, and also diagnostics and treatment, is an important part of a broader suite of responses to COVID-19. This issue touches on the work of a number of different Government Departments.

Ireland has consistently championed collaborative responses to the pandemic, with a focus on ensuring that the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable are served by our collective effort. Ireland has shown support for sharing COVID-19 related knowledge and research outputs in a number of ways. This includes engagement in the National Open Research Forum, and the granting of non-exclusive royalty-free licenses through Knowledge Transfer Ireland. It also includes Science Foundation Ireland’s alignment with Plan S, an initiative to ensure publicly funded research is openly available, immediately, without embargo for the betterment of societal needs.

Officials in my Department continue to work with counterparts in other Departments, including the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to give consideration to whether Ireland will join the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP).