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CABINET HAS APPROVED an advance purchase agreement of 875,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Moderna.
Health Minsiter Stephen Donnelly brought a memo to Cabinet on Ireland signing up to the Covid-19 vaccine today.
The government also agreed to the indemnification of the company and the transfer of responsibility for claims management to the State Claims Agency.
The Taoiseach said the State had signed up to six advance purchase agreements now – Moderna, AstraZeneca, Jansen, Sanofi, CureVac and Pfizer.
Micheál Martin said Ireland “will receive vaccine doses subject to market approval granted by the regulatory authorities on a population per rata basis of 1.11% of the total European Union delivery”.
He said the State’s vaccine task force has met twice already and discussed the complex logistical challenges, including storage and transport requirements.
“It’s clear that a roll out of the vaccine would require very careful and detailed planning,” said the Taoiseach.
He added that communications will be key in terms of promoting the vaccine. The Taoiseach said historically, vaccines have helped eradicate many killer diseases.
“In that context, the government, working with the authorities, will obviously be promoting strongly the take up of the Covid–19 vaccine,” he said.
The Taoiseach also said the Defence Forces will be helping with the vaccination programme “from a logistics perspective”.
A government spokesperson added that the army could have a role to play in helping out with staffing of the inoculation plan.
In terms of the indemnification, a government spokesperson said it is “the standard”, though it is not yet known if the same indemnification covers the other vaccines.
The latest vaccine to be signed up to, Moderna, has said it will apply for US and European emergency authorisation of its vaccine, based on full results from a late-stage study showing its vaccine was 94.1% effective with no serious safety concerns.
Moderna said the analysis of the phase three COVE study of the vaccine candidate, involving 30,000 participants, included 196 cases of Covid-19, of which 30 cases were severe.
Vaccine efficacy against the disease was 94.1% and vaccine efficacy against severe Covid-19 was 100%, the company reported.
It added that the jab is generally well tolerated with no serious safety concerns identified to date.
The Cabinet was also updated on the progress to date of the Government’s new taskforce on the delivery of vaccines, which met again yesterday.
Professor Brian MacCraith, who heads up the task force, said over the weekend that inoculations could start to be distributed by January.
The health minister has said that December is “unlikely” to be the month that vaccinations begin, but said he wants vaccinations to start “as soon as possible” depending on “which of the vaccines come to market first”.
Moderna vaccine
In relation to the Moderna vaccine, the company reports that efficacy was consistent across age, race and ethnicity, and gender demographics.
The 196 coronavirus cases included 33 adults aged 65 and over, and 42 participants identifying as being from diverse communities.
Based on prior analysis, the most common adverse reactions included injection site pain, fatigue, myalgia (muscle pain), arthralgia (joint pain), headache, and redness at the injection site. But these were generally short-lived, said the company.
The company said these solicited adverse reactions increased in frequency and severity in the vaccinated group after the second dose.
A Mail On Sunday/Ireland Thinks poll over the weekend found that 70% of people in Ireland would take a vaccine.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris has said there will need to be bipartisan efforts to support vaccination when one or more are approved by authorities.
Tech University for South East
On a separate matter, Harris will today update Cabinet on the progress on establishing Technological Universities across the country, in particular, progress on the delivery of a TU for the South East.
The South East is the only region in the State which does not have a university presence.
A detailed project plan covering all aspects of the project was completed in October, with the department now monitoring the progression of the plan on a monthly basis.
Harris is expected to inform government today that an application will be made by end April 2021 with a view to the TU being established, if successful, during the 2021/2022 academic year.
The minister will also confirm Munster TU will be established on 1 January 2021 next and an application for the Connacht Ulster Alliance will be made in January 2021.
Harris will also confirm a €90 million TU Transformation Fund will be distributed over the next three years by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to support TU development.
With reporting by Press Association
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A public body in Ireland wasting public funds? Never…must be some mistake surely!!
Yes when your found doing something dodgy . You don’t get sacked . You get promoted up wit a higher wage . Its normal .
It’s about promoting people out of the way. Get them up in top jobs where they don’t make any decisions or mistakes… They are guided by the lower paid, competent individuals who’ll never get promoted because they are too good at what they do and could never be replaced!
Read that back to yourself there please
In the last week alone, there is this huge waste from Dublin City Council, the €1m which they have spent securing the Priory Hall site and the €6m that they spent buying a hotel from the developer of Priory Hall, Tom McFeely… and the City Manager who oversaw all of this, John Tierney, is given the job as Head of Irish Water?
Add to that all the other money wasted by the Council, recent report of purchase of house in Fitzwilliam for housing of the homeless, seven years ago, never used to date. In the mean time the Council are overcharging tenents for rent and refusing to be accountable or to support their figures.
Vera
and don’t forget the incinerator!
Grand little country all the same isn’t it? Christ, Bob Geldof knew what he was writing years ago with ‘Banana Republic’.
I don’t understand why they didn’t just use the money to fix priory hall rather than secure it. Not sure if a million euro would cover it but it would help. I don’t like the idea of local authorities using people’s money to fix a private developers mistake but in fairness, let the residents back into their homes. Then have lost enough in this mess already.
Actually Maria, originally the cost of Priory Hall corrections was quoted at €1 million… Go figure… :)
cos the didnt have the money in the first place. This is a cost
I should nip in at this point and clarify that there has been some incorrect reporting about Priory Hall in the last few days.
As we understand it, the €1 million being quoted for Priory Hall repairs refers only to to the Council’s own share of the repairs bill (because of the number of apartments it owns itself). The total repairs bill is far higher, when you include the apartments which are owned by private individuals.
(It’s also a bit of a folly to split the prices this way because you can’t just repair individual apartments – it’s the entire building, including common areas like entry-exit routes, that needs fixing.)
Thank you Gavan for clarifying that. I live on Hole in The wall Rd beside Priory Hall and there is no way 1 million Euro would even begin to sort that mess out. Mr. Tierney of DCC should be held accountable for the damage that he has caused to our community. When on earth will the people in “power” be punished for their contribution to the ruination of our wee country? It seems to me that the only people being blamed for this depression/recession is us! I would love you “The journal” to do a where are we now? About the rogue builders/developers of the last ten years. I bet my life they’re not in temporary accommodation, I bet they’re still in their palatial homes. I know they are. Justice? Is there such a thing as justice in Ireland? If I was young, I’d flee this country, I’m devastated to say that.
I think we need a report into how the money was wasted.. A really expensive one
this one cost you nothing!
The problem is Councillors, I wonder how many contracts were awarded to the friends of friends and they weren’t tendered I bet! The Garda fraud squad, needs to be beefed or horsed up and we need a team of untouchables!
Meanwhile the man in charge of Dublin City Council managing this EUR40 million of wasted taxpayer money gets recognised for this incompetence, by recently being awarded the top job at Irish Water, on EUR200,000+ a year + perks.
The commercial provision of water is a business he has zero experience in. Where was the role advertised? Was he the best man for woman for the job?
Dublin City Council under his management also squandered EUR80+ million on the Poolbeg Incinerator disaster. Management of that massive waste of money deemed as ‘weak and inadequate’ by the auditors. Was he asked about his handling of that at interview for the Irish Water job?
These are only two stories we know about in terms of massive monies wasted by Dublin City Council. God knows how much more is not yet in the public eye.
How about the very murky way in which Greyhound was awarded the domestic waste contract without a full transparent public tender. The council voted against Greyhound but he veto’d the no vote – despite Greyhound having a poor track record in the provision of services to Iarnrod Eireann and being fined substantially for it.
Can someone let me know how one develops the skills to rise and rise in the Establishment yet have a piss poor track record when it comes to performance, grotesque waste and incompetence?
If it was the Private Sector he would either have been fired years ago or else the company he was in charge of would be in liquidation.
Wasted €40 million in public funds on one project, what about all the other ones.
30 mill. 10 on the others…..
That’s one hell of a lot of peoples house hold charges gone to waste.
Can someone explain why we have a height limit for buildings in the city?
I am a civils contractor who do contracts for cork county council and can honestly say that thought there are some good council engineers a lot would never survive in the private sector. They have a total different mentality than private sector. A lot of them have no drive and are there for the easy life. This time of year they are tight with their budgets and come the end of the year they are throwing money at you to spend their budget as they won’t get the same amount next year if they don’t spend it. It is sickening to see it at times.
Just look at how roads are constructed. Sure in Sandyford there are 2X 1km long heavy concrete ‘noise’ walls to separate 1) a road within an industrial estate from the noise of the LUAS and 2) the industrial estate from the noise of the road. There is a million wasted right there.
I too would like to know why there is a height limit for buildings in Dublin – its about time we started building up not out.
I can never understand the phobia they always have of building ‘too high’ in the capital city!!
there are lots of good reasons not to which are not about aesthetics
I think it is there for good reason. If it wasnt we would have about 40 high rise skeleton buildings from failed developers. The self named ‘Baron of Ballsbridge’ and his Knightsbridge nightmare come to mind.
I’m glad in a way the boom ended as the planning authorities were a disgrace. If I wantted to build a house in the country on families land I would have to apply for years.
Adebayo
actually the statistics show otherwise – 54,000 single dwellings permitted since 2007. Besides the fact that the land is ‘your family’s’ is irrelevant.
well if they went ahead with the 25 floors of a new liberty hall redevelopment it would create building jobs as well as a bar/restaurant on the top floor and a viewing tower…… so yet more jobs AND becoming a massive tourist attraction AND creating money for the gov also who doesn’t visit the highest building in a city to get spectacular views of the place???
well, actually research shows that the majority of tourists visit Dublin rate low-rise Georgian charm highly together with social/cultural aspects. If you pepper the city centre with high rise you erode character, thereby eroding the tourist draw. Besides there is a very popular viewing tower on top of Guinness and Croke Park – to follow your logic jobs are not cumulative they simply compete against each other – no net gain.
Hi Gavan
Slight correction
“The body says a total of €30 million was squandered by approving planning permission for the construction of the National Children’s Hospital at the site of the Mater hospital, which was later overturned by An Bord Pleanála.”
This is not what the report says. DCC encouraged/or did not discourage the proposed development of the NCC. This was a Strategic Infrastructure Development project and the decision was made directly by the Board.
if you change ‘approving’ to ‘supporting’ that would do it. Check out consultation notes in annex of report – you could hardly believe that one of the biggest applications in the State could be recorded by a few scribbles.
Thanks OOI – I’ve made a quick change to it now; hope it more accurately reflects the report!
I wonder what the logic was behind the decisions that resulted in the massive losses.
It reminds me of the “farmleigh” saga where ahern gave over the asking price (I stand to be corrected on this) but there must have been some reason behind the decisions.
largely competition. Local councils in Ireland are in competition with each other for investment, commercial rates and development levies. This is the consequence of having no stable local tax base.
and no centralised planning control to restrain the excesses of local government. When Ireland adopted the British Planning system in the 1960s, that part was left out.
That kind of money never gets wasted .. it gets squirrelled away in Caymen Islands bank accounts!!
Blah, blah, blah…. Cynical am I? You darn tootin’… Nothing will ever change in this country regarding anything related to power and money. Those elected to power, assigned to paid board positions, and managing funds will continue to misappropriate funds, steal money, hide money and make deals that financially benefit their pocket, unless systems are put in place to track their spending, jail and fine their poor decisions, inactions, misuse of funds and misappropriations of funds.
However… It will never happen… Why.. Because we the tax payer have no power. Supposedly, the way we elect individuals is suppose to be our power…. The sad thing is that the way the election process works here makes it in possible to make true change. Parish, front porch and fiefdom politics don’t work. The politicians have also taken our democratic power away from us… So we don’t have a course of actions.
With an exception of few…. The average politician, when voted in, is given an invitation to demand that we drop our pants, bend over and grab our ankles and take it till they get what they want.
Am I cynical… Yes…. Am I angry… Yes…. Am I tired…. Yes…. Am I frustrated…. Yes….
Thank God I know that there are people worse off…
Respite Grant!
Mobility Allowence!
Laughing stock of europe!!!!
Just wondering if anyone was held accountable anywhere along the line here. Did anyone get fired or demoted. Seems that one of the top dogs actually got promoted. This s**t makes me sick to my stomach when you think of the millions that were wasted and people in this country can hardly afford to feed their kids or even keep a old beat up car on the road because there being taxed to the hilt. ” Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.
Surely it was the National Paediatric Developement Board that is responsible for 30 million(??) being wasted on the new childrens hospital. BTW the (??) are inserted because the board only published their 2010 company accounts last month.I wonder when/if we will ever know the full amount.They spent half a million defending the project at Bord Pleanala alone…!!
point is if DCC advised them that the proposal breached their development plan and therefore they could not support it, the money would not have been wasted. This is the job of a planning authority as a statutory consultee. Have a look at the very last few pages of that report – the scribbles.
Is there actually no accountability in this Country?!?! And here was me thinking the property tax was to fund failed banks!!
C’mon JacckiB accountability in Ireland !! The more incompetence the bigger the promotion pension and wages . We reward failure in Ireland.
Happening at every level. Dad had to go to An Bord Pleanála to overturn a granted application on a site next door to build concrete and glass apartments next to 130 year old Victorian railway houses. An Bord Pleanála overturned the council’s decision on the grounds that the development contravened the council’s own development plan. Cost Dad 300 euro to force An Bord Pleanála to do the council’s own job for them.
Sounds like a “Brown envelope” job to me!!!
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