Gino Kenny warns of Omicron surge, slams TRIPS waiver opposition
Gino Kenny addressed the Minister about the pandemic, warning that Omicron could drive a surge while hospitalisations and ICU figures have so far plateaued. He praised the booster campaign's success but criticised long queues and urged Ireland to back the TRIPS waiver for global vaccine equity.
Pandemic status
Gino Kenny noted that hospitalisations and ICU numbers in Ireland have essentially plateaued and, in some cases, fallen. He cautioned that Britain appears two to three weeks ahead in cases and vaccine rollouts, and warned that Ireland could face an "extremely difficult" period of rising infections over the next four to six weeks if trends follow.
Booster rollout and public experience
He described the booster campaign as successful but raised concerns about access and logistics, saying people were queuing for four to five hours — a deterrent that risks undermining uptake. Kenny urged operational improvements to avoid discouraging people from getting booster doses.
TRIPS waiver and global equity
Kenny strongly criticised the European Union for blocking the TRIPS waiver, calling that stance "literally shameful" and urging Ireland to support vaccine equity. He noted that Italy and Portugal have backed the waiver and pointed out that the Seanad passed a motion in favour, questioning whether domestic pharmaceutical multinationals influence policy.
Ventilation funding and health service strain
He welcomed the Government's allocation of €62 million for ventilation improvements but said the support had come late and should have been implemented much earlier. Kenny expressed gratitude to health workers and acknowledged the traumatic pressures on hospital staff while urging faster upgrades of ventilation and filtration systems.
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Minister, I'd like to wish you a happy Christmas in this period. Minister, I want to start off with a very positive note, because I think we need to be positive in relation to this ongoing pandemic. Hospitalisations and ICU figures in Ireland have essentially plateaued, or in some cases the ICU has gone down. That's a very, very good indication of what direction this pandemic has gone. So, so far, so good. But there is obviously serious kind of dark clouds on the horizon. And I think them clouds, you only have to look in Britain at the moment. I mean, the cases are going through the roof. And Britain are probably two to three weeks ahead of where we are in relation to their booster campaign, their vaccine rollout, where they are. So the indications are that, you know, we could be facing extremely difficult, extremely difficult four to six weeks. In relation to the cases in relation to the amount of infections. Hopefully that does not translate then into hospitalisations and ICU. Because if it does, then I think we have a different scenario on our hands. And I think the booster campaign has been very successful. I think it's, you know, people queuing for four to five hours is just not conducive to the spirit that we had before, you know, because people will just won't go. So I think that needs to be kind of ironed out and so forth. And the ongoing public health emergency has been extremely challenging. I mean, this is like something we've never ever seen before in our public health services. I know we all have friends that work in hospitals and it's, I mean, it's beyond traumatic for in relation to the environment that they have to work in. But, you know, we've said this before, we hold absolute gratitude to those that are kind of protecting us and our loved ones. And there are signs, and there is signs that the, the ascendancy of the Omicron is out populating the Delta. And, you know, it's, it seems to be, it's much more infectious and so forth. So, I mean, there are just two things, and the criticisms is two issues. One is in relation to, and this is not in the abstract, I say this in the kind of, you're hearing now, is in relation to the TRIPS waiver, right? The TRIPS waiver is a mechanism that gives equity to those that can't get access to vaccines. Now, with the European Union blocking that, it's literally shameful. You know, if you can't do it now, when can you do it? And Italy and Portugal have, you know, you and the latterly said, look, we support the wave and the TRIPS waiver, but Ireland hasn't. Now, if I was a conspiracy theorist, I would start thinking, saying, why is that the case? Is it the case because there are so many multinationals pharmaceutical companies in this country? You know, that's a question I'd like to, maybe, answer. And I think even the Sianad yesterday, they passed a motion in relation to the TRIPS waiver. So I think Ireland has to step up to the plate and say, look, we stand with countries across the world that need access to this. And just the final thing in relation to ventilation, and I think it's welcome that the Government have given 62 million in relation to improvements in that. But they've come late to the table, I'll be honest with you. This should have been done over a year ago in relation to ventilation. You know, ventilation and kind of HIPAA filters is, I mean, it's proven that these are, you know, really, really good in relation to circulation and so forth. So, look, Minister, this is not, this is not easy by any means, right? Regardless of who you are, what political colour you are, regardless of what Government you are, there are very, huge difficulties. But look, we wish everybody that's in their health service the best. Thanks. Speaker 2 Speaker 6 Speaker 4 Speaker 18 Speaker 9 Speaker 9 Speaker 9 Speaker 10
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