Concern for business due to vaccine issues
FITZPATRICK CONCERNED AT VACCINE DIFFERENCE IN BORDER REGION
Dundalk-based TD Peter Fitzpatrick fears a lot of businesses south of the border will close if retail in Northern Ireland re-opens ahead of the Republic.
And during Leaders’ Questions he said given the pace of vaccination the North will be leaving lockdown at some stage in June, like other parts of the UK.
‘I have very real concerns that the North has raced ahead of us in the fight against Covid. I stated from the start that we should have taken an all-island approach to this pandemic.
‘One can imagine the chaos if all retail is fully reopened in Newry while we in Dundalk remain in lockdown.
‘We simply cannot allow a situation whereby one part of the island is open, and another part is, in effect, closed,’ he said.
The Independent TD added it was clear the Republic of Ireland was ‘nowhere near’ reopening society in June.
‘ The question I would like answered is why the North did not have the same problem with supply that we have. Nor does it seem to be an issue in the rest of the UK.
‘Questions need to be answered as to why the Government has failed miserably so far in securing more vaccines. The message from the Government continues to be vague and, at best, confusing.’
He also asked Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to confirm that teachers, SNAs and members of the Garda were no longer deemed to be priority groups for receiving vaccination.
Mr Varadkar said quicker vaccine roll-out was happening in the UK because it had a different set of contracts from the EU.
‘However, we will catch up and we are catching up. We expect to be giving an average of one million doses per month in April, May and June.
‘We anticipate that the vast majority of adults, or certainly a clear majority of adults, will have had their first dose or both doses by the end of May, and more than 80% of adults will have been offered their first dose by the end of June. We are on track to achieve that,’ Mr Varadkar remarked.
‘I asked the Tánaiste about members of the Garda, teachers and SNAs. The Government made promises to those groups and it has failed miserably to deliver them,’ Deputy Fitzpatrick continued.
‘In June, when the North opens up, we will depend on the Garda to help patrol the border.
‘In fairness to teachers and SNAs, they have done a fantastic job over the past number of months under a false promise from the Government. Why did the Government make those false promises?’
The Tánaiste responded: ‘In regard to vaccine priority, nobody doubts the essential work and the quality of work that is done by teachers, retail workers, SNAs, carers and the ten or 20 professions I could mention whom we all respect and whose work has been essential during this pandemic.
‘ The reason we have gone to an age-based cohort is that it is the fastest way of doing it. It is also the fairest way of doing it because people in their 50s and 60s are at much higher risk of getting very sick or dying from this virus than people in their 30s and 40s, regardless of their profession. It is based on scientific advice.
‘If the Deputy wants to make a submission to NIAC, if he is sincere about this, he should do so. He should set down which people he thinks should be prioritised, in which order, and then present the evidence that they are more at risk than people in their 50s and 60s.’
Mr Fitzpatrick said he did not make a promise to gardaí and teachers.
‘ The Tánaiste made that promise.’