That was quite a slippery answer from the Tánaiste. I will attempt to get an answer again. People Before Profit has been campaigning for months for a people's vaccine to stop the big pharmaceutical companies and their profit interest standing in the way of people getting access to vaccines and to seek to avoid the horror scenes we are seeing in India. The Government had a position, which was to oppose a people's vaccine. They dismissed the people's vaccine in the Dáil and they went along with the EU in using its votes at the WTO to block the India-South Africa proposal. Now the Biden Administration, under pressure from below, has changed its position. It seems to recognise that COVAX is no solution whatsoever. They are saying they will support a suspension. There is a question for Ireland. I saw the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, welcoming the announcement from the US but, if that is the case, will the Government be pressurising the EU to use its vote to support the India-South Africa proposal to suspend TRIPS?

The President of the Commission made a statement on this this morning and made it clear that the European Union is open to discussions on this matter. We want a practical solution that actually means that more vaccines will be produced in the global south and that needs to go beyond a TRIPS waiver. The EU position is we are committed and open to trying to reach an agreement with all members of the WTO on how to achieve the shared goal of providing timely and secure access to safe and affordable vaccines and medicines for all. This was reiterated by the European Union at the meeting of the WTO general council yesterday. There are existing flexibilities in the TRIPS agreement which allow compulsory licensing without negotiation with the patent holder in the context of a national emergency such as this and that a compulsory licence can cover exports to all countries that lack a manufacturing capability.

The EU has also welcomed the announcement of the new WTO director general to explore a third way to broaden access to Covid vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

I thank the Tánaiste. We are over time.

This would be achieved not only by waiving patent rights but also by facilitating technology transfer within the framework of multilateral rules.