Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2021-04-22
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Stephen Donnelly (FF), Wicklow

I thank Deputy Berry for his questions and can assure him that Professor MacCraith is working beyond what would normally be considered full-time. If full-time is 40 hours per week, although I know it is a lot longer for a lot of people, then Professor MacCraith is working well beyond that. I speak to him almost daily, including early in the morning and late at night and I commend him and the rest of the task force on the work they are doing.
I do not believe the National Emergency Co-Ordination Centre is the right place for the vaccination programme, which is a core competence of the Department of Health and the HSE. Notwithstanding what has been a bumpy road, with by no means everything done right, the vaccination programme rightly sits with the Department and the HSE. That said, the Deputy asks a very fair question in the context of a whole-of-Government response to an emergency like Covid-19 and it is something that we will keep under review.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2021-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:12+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-04-22