Minister of State Martin Heydon backs #bestshot campaign to fast-track Covid-19 vaccines to pharmacies
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Kildare South TD and and Minister of State Martin Heydon has supported a campaign being run by the Leinster Leader and KildareNow to fast-track Covid-19 vaccines to local pharmacies so that communities can be protected from the virus as soon as possible.
Last July, Deputy Heydon was appointed Minister of State with special responsibility for Research and Development, Farm Safety and New Market Development at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Mr Heydon said: I have to declare a vested interest in that my wife is a pharmacist but that means I know the critical role they play in advising and reassuring the public on all health related concerns.
Durkan (75) intends to run again at next general election
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Kildare North TD Bernard Durkan has confirmed he intends to stand at the next general election which will make him one the oldest candidates to go before voters.
Mr Durkan, who will turn 76 in March, will be 80 years old if the government runs its full five-year term.
He said: “Yes, I intend to stand.”
The Mayo native was first elected at the 1981 general election almost 40 years ago.
He later lost his seat in February 1982 but was re-elected in November 1982 and at every general election since then with an unbroken record of service.
Leo Varadkar plays tribute to Cllr Tom Mulhall
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Minister of State and Kildare South TD Martin Heydon with Cllr Tom Mulhall and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar );
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The Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader, Leo Varadkar has paid tribute to Tom Mulhall who is retiring after over a decade representing the people of Laois as a member of Laois County Council.
Cllr Mulhall is retiring on health grounds and the Tánaiste paid tribute to what his party colleague in Laois has achieved.
“I wish to thank Tom Mulhall for his years of dedicated service on Laois County Council.
TD Cathal Berry backs #bestshot campaign to fast-track Covid-19 vaccines to pharmacies
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Kildare South TD and medical doctor Dr Cathal Berry has supported a campaign being run by the Leinster Leader and KildareNow to fast-track Covid-19 vaccines to local pharmacies so that communities can be protected from the virus as soon as possible.
Dr Berry said: I am fully supportive of this great initiative. Pharmacies and GP clinics are already working together in rolling out other vaccinations so it makes complete sense to include Covid vaccines in this as well. I am glad to see that involving pharmacies is already part of the rollout plan, but this needs to be fast-tracked to ensure that vaccines reach the wider community as soon as possible.
Covid-19 restrictions increasing driving test delays at Naas hub centre
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Almost 3,000 people are currently waiting for a driving test at Naas, according to recent figures.
The figures are indicative of the knock-on delays created by Covid-19 restrictions since March of this year.
A spokesperson for the Road Safety Authority (RSA) said that, as of December 16, there were 2,835 people waiting for a driving test at the Naas Driving Test Centre.
Figures supplied also show that a total of 679 people have an appointment secured while a further 1,266 applications for a test are ineligible because “usually mandatory lessons are incomplete”.