Ireland could follow Israel with vaccine passes to allow vaccinated people more freedom like access to pubs, Tanáiste Leo Varadkar has indicated.
Mr Varadkar told his Fine Gael party colleagues last night that those that have been vaccinated could show via their phone that they’ve been vaccinated.
Sources told the Irish Mirror that the Tanáiste said Ireland would opt into that at an EU level and the government is watching if it will be successful or a “bloody disaster” in Israel and Denmark where they have rolled it out.
He said that the government thinks it’s too soon to roll vaccine bonuses here because there aren’t enough people fully vaccinated.
He said Israel has opened pubs and people are allowed in if you have a vaccine pass and that Ireland can learn from this and hopefully we can follow if it is successful.
Mr Varadkar said two million people should have received their first Covid-19 dose by the end of April.
He was updating his Fine Gael colleagues at the parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday night.
Sources have said the Tanáiste said April is “looking good” for vaccines and just under one million vaccines are to arrive in the country next month.
He said in total there “we should have two million doses given by the end of April, there or thereabouts.”
He said the problem is that people really only get “fully protected” after two weeks having their second dose.
He said the vaccination programme is not going as fast as the government would like and that “we won’t get to a million by the end of March” but “we’re getting there.”
On the easing of restrictions, the Tanáiste said the priority is getting all children back to school on April 12 but the second priority is people’s mental health to give them “hope” and “some relief.”
There were resounding calls from Fine Gael TDs and Senators for the government to provide a roadmap for the public to see our way out of strict restrictions.
Mr Varadkar said NPHET have postponed their meeting until Monday to give their recommendations to the government on the most up-to-date data.
He said health experts will be watching case numbers, the R number which Mr Varadkar said “is probably above one which isn’t good.”
He told colleagues that he wouldn’t speculate in the media after former Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy telling the meeting that it “doesn’t go down well with the public” and advised against kite-flying.
Mr Varadkar agreed and said speculation raises hopes and then “hopes are dashed.”
