I acknowledge that more than 1 million people have received their third dose of the vaccine to date, but why are there not more local pharmacies and community centres involved in providing third doses? I went to Citywest on the Monday before last. I had not received an appointment from the HSE; I was a walk-in. I got there at 8 o'clock in the morning. I spent two hours standing outside in the marquee with all the other over-60s in the freezing cold and then spent an hour queuing in the centre. I got my dose at 11 a.m. At UCD this morning, people visiting the centre as walk-ins, having travelled by bus or whatever, found that the cut-off point came at 9 a.m. because there were too many people queuing for the walk-in service. I ask the Tánaiste to look at getting these vaccine centres into the communities so people in my cohort - many of us are healthy but many of us are not - to get their vaccines in their local area.

I wish to express my regrets and to apologise on behalf of the Government and the HSE for the inconvenience faced this morning by people who queued for a third dose and were not able to get it. In the round, the third dose programme is going very well. More than 1 million people in Ireland have received their third dose. I think we are very close to the top of the league table in the European Union for third doses. We are in about fourth place out of 27 countries, but I know that if you are left standing in the cold waiting for a vaccine you do not get, that is pretty cold comfort. There have been IT problems and teething problems and we will get them right, just like we got them right during the first period of the vaccine programme.

I am told that about 900 pharmacies are now involved in the programme.

Only four of them are in Dublin 12.

I will double-check that because it is very important that all the pharmacies in Dublin 12 and Dublin 8 - and those in Dublin 15 and Dublin 7 - are given the possibility to participate.