A man by the name of Seán from east Galway, the constituency of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, passed away last week. He was a well-known musician and played for numerous Presidents. Seán died from something that was preventable. The reason I am telling this story is because his family wanted me to raise it with the Tánaiste. Seán hardly ever left his house over the past year because he was completely terrified of Covid.

Next Tuesday will see a big event when the Government announces where we are going with Covid. The family's plea is that messaging will change to one of hope, to one where we give people some positivity and that the narrative will change to ensure that people like Seán will know there will be a day when we get out of this and a positive day coming very soon.

I am very sorry to hear about Seán's passing and I extend my condolences to his family as well. I know how difficult the last year or so has been, particularly for people who have been bereaved. Whether it was a consequence of Covid, not being able to grieve in the normal way that we do has been really hard on thousands of families across the country.

The message on Tuesday will be one of hope. I, along with the Government, am hopeful. We have vaccines now and they work. We know they will allow us to live with this virus in the future in a way that we have not been able to in the year gone by.

It will also have to be a message of honesty and realism, however, because we are not there yet. Cases are rising again and we are genuinely concerned about the possibility of a fourth wave before the summer and before we have had time to vaccinate those most at risk. It will be the middle of May before we vaccinate all the over 70s and all those under 70 who have medical conditions. That has to be the priority.