Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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515. To ask the Minister for Health the policy on an issue (details supplied) regarding healthcare assistants and home helps employed through section 39 organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62490/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The option to avail of Covid-19 vaccination is open to anyone for whom it is deemed clinically safe and who wishes to receive a vaccination. Ireland has among the highest vaccination rates in the EU, with more than 93% of the eligible population having received a vaccine dose and in excess of 91% having received a full primary vaccination regimen.

I am aware of the planned introduction of mandatory vaccination in other countries, and that the issue of mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers has been the subject of preliminary discussion by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). Noting the complexities surrounding the practice, relevant ethical, legal, and practical issues will require thorough examination before any action is considered.