They were not available outside.

The copies are not there.

They are not there. The Minister should not tell me that something is there when it is not. I have checked.

I have two blocks of two questions; I only have four questions. I want to ask something I had not intended but it is based on the Minister's response to a previous questioner. On the maternity services, there seems to be a direct contradiction between what the Minister said and what Mr. Paul Reid said an hour and a half ago. Mr. Reid said: "We believe the conditions are right that restrictions should be lifted" [in maternity units nationwide]. That seems pretty black and white. I raised the issue earlier of Gary To…

Will that be accepted as a digital certificate? That is the issue.

I understand. When are we going to include the pharmacists? I will skip the final question to give the Minister time to answer. Pharmacists have a major role to play. I know the Minister spoke about 24-hour testing centres. If he wants to go down that route, I will support him 100%. Honestly, pharmacists have a huge reach into the communities. What is the plan? What is the timeline for including pharmacists?

I am happy we are dealing with this issue today. It is quite timely, on the day that is in it and also because of the volume of older people who have been vaccinated. I will run through a few issues and, as I have little time, the Minister of State might respond to me separately. I have direct experience of this issue, with very elderly parents in their 80s. The past year and a half has been the worst of their lives, although they have been through tough times in the past. My mother, who is my hero, turned 80 last …

I raised with the Taoiseach yesterday the issue of access to maternity services for the partners of those giving birth. The Tánaiste might confirm whether we will be getting news on this today because I have been raising the issue in the House for seven months. Another issue I have been raising here for seven months - we were sitting in Leinster House when I first raised it, in October - is that of antigen testing. It is connected with access to maternity services because, for the reopening of businesses and servic…

This is one of the most important issues we could be dealing with. I am delighted, and also shocked, that the Government has actually accepted our motion. It is incredibly important and something in which we fundamentally believe, but it is also very critical of the Government. In that sense, I am delighted the Minister of State's Government has accepted that criticism. I start my contribution by telling a powerful story, written by a parent of an autistic young kid: I can see Sarah is excited as I collect her from…

Last week, I asked the Taoiseach about the vaccine roll-out. I am going to ask him about it again this week and will probably do so every week. Unfortunately, when I raised this matter last week, dare I say it, the Taoiseach made quite a cynical charge, which was that, in essence, asking questions about the roll-out is somehow not putting on the green jersey. The Taoiseach knows I put on the green jersey numerous times throughout this crisis and will continue to do so. Please do not go down that line again. Transpa…

I sincerely wish them the best. The HSE has done a good job. It has faced very difficult challenges with the criteria changing all the time. I acknowledge that. Of my three questions, the Taoiseach answered the one I asked about achieving 450,000 vaccinations a week. He said that figure is achievable and is being projected. He answered that question directly, which I respect. Unless some miracle is going to happen, I do not understand how we will logistically manage the 50 to 59-year-olds with the Johnson & Johnson…

According to NIAC, people in this group now need only one vaccine. My final question is about 60 to 69-year-olds who are getting the AstraZeneca vaccine. They have to wait for 12 weeks for a second dose. If a green certificate is introduced, those aged over 70 will have received either a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and will be fully vaccinated and those aged over 50 will have the Janssen vaccine and will be fully vaccinated. The Taoiseach can see why 60 to 69-year-olds are concerned about a green certificate and not …

I agree.

I agree.

The Business Post reported at the weekend that the State is in final talks with the EU over the €915 million in recovery funding. There is a €750 billion fund in place under the EU's pandemic recovery plan, as we know. We will get €853 million in grants in 2021 and 2022 but our allocation for 2023 has been substantially reduced from €420 million to €68 million, a loss of €352 million. Is that confirmed? That is what was reported in The Business Post . The Taoiseach can tell me in his response. Have we lobbied for a…

There are a number of proposals in the programme for Government for citizens' assemblies on biodiversity, the future of education, the mayor of Dublin, drugs use, etc. Can the Taoiseach outline what his priority is in this regard? Second, the Citizens' Assembly on gender equality reported at the weekend and offered 45 very good recommendations. My party has been fighting for many of the latter, for almost half a century in some cases. I will ask a number of quick questions on this. The assembly recommends the delet…

Did the Taoiseach invite President Biden to Ireland? I am hearing different stories and information from both sides of the pond on this. As the Taoiseach knows, President Biden intends to visit the UK and he could include Ireland as part of that. The Taoiseach might confirm whether he has officially invited him and, if so, will he give us some details? One of the main components was the issue of vaccines. I have raised this issue previously. Through the People's Vaccine Alliance various people have come together to…

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion. I wish to raise an issue that is the subject of a report by Shane Phelan in this morning's edition of the Irish Independent . It relates to services in south Kerry and I am sure the Minister of State is well aware of it. It is a very disturbing report regarding a part of the country that is very close to my heart for personal reasons. People are sincerely worried about this issue because they do not know the scale of what they will be dealing with. What is the scale of this…

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the vaccine roll-out. There are four components to what I am asking. The public needs to hear some answers as this is obviously the most important issue facing our nation at the moment. On 23 February, the Taoiseach stated to the nation that by the end of June up to 82% of adults would have at least their first vaccination. Fewer than two months later, the head of vaccine roll-out at the HSE, Damien McCallion, who is a very capable individual, said yesterday that he was not in a po…

I am aware that the Taoiseach is somewhat nervous about answering these questions but I asked four questions and he essentially ran down the clock and answered one. For the record and for the public watching, the Taoiseach of Ireland has said that at this moment in time there will be no change to the rate of 82% vaccinations by June and 250,000 by next week. The Taoiseach said there was no change. which has the effect of saying that. The Taoiseach just refused to answer three other questions. I find it amazing that…