Thankfully we are seeing clear evidence that Covid-19 vaccines are working. Now that those most at risk in nursing homes and the elderly in the community are becoming increasingly protected from the dangers of Covid-19, it is time to do what we can to tackle loneliness and isolation among older people. It is time to ease the restrictions on nursing home visits. I fully accept these were needed in the past. The general population sees signs of hope that the vaccination process is working. I would like us to reopen our day care centres for the elderly living in the community, some of whom depend on those centres for meals and hygiene services and to serve as a social outlet. It is 12 months since most elderly people living at home had a chance to avail of these day care services. Since most of the elderly population is now vaccinated, we should seriously consider reopening these services as a matter of priority. It would also help to tackle the growing mental health pandemic among the elderly. I urge the Tánaiste to have these services opened as quickly as possible and to allow visits to nursing homes. The population in general sees that our vaccine programme is working and that we are on the road back to normality.

I thank the Deputy. I very much appreciate the sentiments. I am sympathetic to them. At the moment, it is too soon for us to make those kinds of decisions and calls. The next decision date is 5 April. In the run-up to that date, the decisions in question are the kinds of decisions we will consider in consultation with NPHET, the public health doctors and the scientific advisers.

There has to be a dividend for being vaccinated and a benefit for people who are vaccinated. We need more data and we want to see the cases in the community come down more.