Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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197. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will now support a trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights waiver to end global Covid-19 vaccine inequity given that the majority of the Irish public, Seanad Éireann, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the World Health Organisation have all called for a TRIPS waiver for Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics as proposed by India and South Africa in 2020. [30695/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The WTO Ministerial Conference is currently underway in Geneva from 12^thto 15^thJune. This is the major decision-making forum for the WTO and the intention is that the intellectual property related aspects can be agreed as part of the broader WTO trade related response to the pandemic. A draft Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS is under intense discussion by Ministers with the aim of finding a solution that will be acceptable to all WTO Members. This draft Decision offers the most promising path towards achieving a meaningful outcome that will contribute to ensuring access to safe and effective vaccines across the globe.

At the Conference, I made it clear that I think the time has come to agree a deal on the TRIPS waiver and urged members to support the proposition. This is an EU competence but we support any proposal that results in more vaccines being produced and distributed while protecting research and innovation.

The draft Decision provides for a waiver and clarification of some of the flexibilities within the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. If agreed, the proposal will address the concerns of South Africa and developing countries and will allow them to immediately authorise the manufacture, import and export of COVID-19 vaccines without the consent of the patent owners. At the same time, the solution maintains a functioning intellectual property framework which is crucial to incentivise investment and research that is necessary for the development of new vaccines and medicines.

As a member of the EU, Ireland has been fully engaged in the overall EU response in relation to the intellectual property aspects of the trade related response to the pandemic and will continue to engage constructively with the European Commission and other member states on the EU position for the discussions at the Ministerial Conference.