I will start by acknowledging the successful roll-out out of the vaccination programme. This morning, I had the pleasure of attending the vaccination centre at the Aviva Stadium. I acknowledge the hard work, dedication and friendliness of the front-line healthcare workers there and right across the country.

Worryingly, however, we have seen the increased transmissibility of the Delta and Delta plus variants, both in the UK and in other jurisdictions. I acknowledge that it is the objective of Government to want to reopen schools and colleges in September. It is important to remind ourselves that we must protect young people who have underlying health conditions, however.

The European Medicines Agency has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between the ages of 12 to 16, and indeed, Belgium has already begun rolling out the programme for that age cohort. Does the Government have a plan to do likewise in this State?

My expectation is that we will approve the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children and young adults aged between 12 and 16. It is already approved for those aged over 16. We will aim to vaccinate them later in the year. I cannot give a date on that just yet. Obviously, the aim is to move down through the age groups and vaccinate people in their 30s now, moving into those in their 20s and then to people aged between 16 and 20. It is, however, the expectation and intention of the Government that we will vaccinate those aged over 12 but it will be later in the year. I cannot put a date on it yet because there is uncertainty around supply.