On the issue of international travel into the country, Ireland signed up to the EU-wide approach, namely, the traffic light approach. In common with all the other member states, we implemented that approach. On airport testing, the consistent public health advice is that it is not the right way to proceed. It is not recommended by the WHO or the ECDC. The firm view of our public health experts is that it is not the right way to test. The current situation is that inbound travellers, whether at airports or ports, ca…

The Deputy has asked a very fair question. My own granny is about to turn 102 and has carers coming into her house. I want to know when she and her carers are going to be vaccinated. The key is to protect the vulnerable person in the home, more than the carers coming in and out. The key is to vaccinate people like my granny, quite frankly. The answer lies in the prioritisation. For example, the third cohort is those over the age of 70. Based on the schedule that I laid out before the House earlier today, the popula…

I have written down three and will do my very best to answer them. In regard to the situation of people in receipt of carer services, I am not trying to obfuscate. I am trying to make the point that it is not a question with a "Yes" or "No" answer. NIAC has given a prioritisation process and some people in receipt of carer services will be higher up or lower down that list. Being over the age of 70 will have a person in one group and having an underlying condition will put one in a different group. People can be in…

Yes. Is that not the question the Deputy was asking?

In terms of rapid antigen testing, I fully agree with the Deputy. I want to see more of it. It is already being deployed, including in Letterkenny and in healthcare settings. We are working on other places where it can be deployed. I note, for example, the very wide use of it in the UK and we are exploring how it can be deployed here. I agree wholeheartedly that it is not in a place where it would replace PCR testing. It is to be used in places where we would not otherwise use PCR testing. What was the Deputy's thi…

I do not know where the flu virus is. I do know that it is not here, which is fantastic, and that the position is the same in other European countries. I am not really qualified to answer the causality on this but my best guess would be a combination of, as the Deputy said, the use of masks, basic infection prevention and control and the biggest flu vaccination programme we have ever had. I would say it is a combination of things. Thank goodness it has not arrived here.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle but I am fine.

The experts tell us that the Covid-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-century event. Let us hope they are right. There have been more than 70 million confirmed cases worldwide and many more people who have never been diagnosed. It has caused 1.6 million recorded deaths and many hundreds of thousands more deaths have gone unrecorded. Millions of survivors are living with the exhaustion and adverse health effects of what is called "long Covid". Individuals, families and entire communities have suffered greatly. Many in Irela…

Given the importance that the public have correct and not false information on the vaccines, can I correct the record of the Dáil because Deputy McGrath has just put misleading and false information on the record?

I beg the indulgence of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

There is no more time for me, unfortunately, because the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is speaking in that slot.

This will be very quick. I wish to correct the record of the Dáil if I may. Deputy McGrath has stated falsely that the HSE has mislaid 600,000 vaccines. I want to let the Dáil and the public know that that is verifiably false information. Deputy McGrath should not be spreading false information about vaccines in our national Parliament. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “Dáil Eireann” and substitute the following: “acknowledges: — the extraordinary solidarity, determination and resilience shown this year by communities and citizens in Ireland’s fight against Covid-19; — the widespread support and adherence to public health measures by the public, communities, voluntary organisations and workplaces; and — the critical contributions of workers and volunteers across Irish society, including healthcare, education, childcare, justice, t…

It is vital that student nurses and midwives complete their essential clinical placements in a safe environment and our senior nurses have gone to great lengths to ensure this is the case. I also recognise the potential hardship that might arise for students on placement due to Covid-19. Student nurses and midwives are not paid salaries for clinical placements in years 1 to 3, when they are supernumerary or additional to the existing workforce. This is the same across Europe in countries that have degree programmes…

Regarding the short-term review, we are conducting it because that is what the representative bodies asked for. We are finalising that review now. We are also looking at a longer-term review of student placements generally, but the representative bodies asked for very quick action. They asked that any Covid-19-related allowances, if there is to be an increase, would be in place by January. That is what they have asked for, and therefore that is what is being done. On the payment of a wage, I will refer to what some…

It is a matter of record that a member of Deputy Cullinane's party asked me directly in a committee about the apprenticeship model and repeated analogies have been made to what apprentices are paid. The example of Australia has been raised in this House, which runs both an apprenticeship model and a degree programme. I assure Deputy Cullinane, therefore, that we are taking this issue very seriously. Two separate issues are being raised and we are addressing both. The first falls primarily within my remit, and relat…

We can all agree that this is a good week and that last week was a good week in terms of our fight against Covid-19 as we move to prioritisation of vaccines if and when they are approved. The Government is committed to the roll-out of a Covid-19 vaccination programme as soon as suitable products have been authorised and supplies are available. A high-level task force was established to support and oversee the development and implementation of the programme. The task force is working on a national Covid-19 vaccinati…

I agree wholeheartedly with the Deputy. A lot of work is ongoing in the Department and across government on a communications plan. We have a very strong record of vaccinations in Ireland. We will roll out a comprehensive plan. It is about listening to people's concerns and taking them seriously. It is also about providing the medical and scientific experts to engage with people and address their concerns. Ireland has a very good track record. I refer the Deputy to the roll-out of the HPV vaccine, which will save ma…

I agree wholeheartedly with the Deputy. The prioritisation and implementation strategies announced this week are identified by the task force as living documents because how the vaccines are rolled out and which country gets them and when is dependent on three factors, namely, when the European Medicines Agency, EMA, authorises them, information that is still to come from the regulatory process in terms of which vaccines are most suitable for different people and, in part, the sequence of the vaccines. For example,…

I acknowledge the Deputy's advocacy for this essential healthcare infrastructure for the region in question. I had a very productive meeting with the Saolta group some days ago regarding ongoing projects at University Hospital Galway, including this one, and a discussion on elective facilities in the region. I am happy to say this project for a new emergency department at University Hospital Galway, which is part of a larger development incorporating maternity and paediatric services, will be included in the capita…