Send surplus jabs to the Republic of Ireland to help our Irish ‘neighbours’, Boris Johnson is urged

Arlene Foster has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to send surplus vaccines to the Republic of Ireland.

The Northern Ireland First Minister said Britain could help ‘our neighbours in the Republic’ to escape the EU vaccine crisis by offering spare AstraZeneca shots to the country.

She suggested the offer may be conditional on Dublin accepting the post-Brexit Northern Ireland settlement is unsatisfactory. 

Her comments come after Brussels yesterday backed down from plans to create a hard border on the island of Ireland to stop doses getting into the UK through Northern Ireland.

Arlene Foster has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to send surplus vaccines to the Republic of Ireland

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, she said: ‘Because of their membership of the EU, they have not been able to access the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in the way, I am sure, they would have liked to if they had been a sovereign country.’

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen led calls for the UK to help the Republic of Ireland today but suggested the EU may prevent vaccine-sharing between the countries.

Writing int the Pavlovik Today, he said it is ‘clearly in the UK’s interest to help the Republic of Ireland wherever we could as they are our closest neighbours and the only country with a land border’. 

He said: ‘Unfortunately, as they are in the EU and have given powers over vaccines to the Commission in Brussels, it was unlikely they would allow us to supply them directly with our surplus vaccine.’ 

The Northern Ireland First Minister said Britain could help ‘our neighbours in the Republic’ to escape the EU vaccine crisis by offering spare AstraZeneca shots to the country. Pictured: Volunteers are trained by St John Ambulance instructors to administer Covid-19 vaccines at Manchester United Football Club on Friday

The Republic of Ireland has a vaccination rate of three per cent,  behind Northern Ireland’s 10.4 per cent rate and the UK’s nearly 12 per cent.

Northern Ireland’s joint heads of government are divided over the Brexit protocol in the aftermath of an EU attempt to slam on the brakes over covid vaccination supply routes.

First Minister Arlene Foster has urged the UK Government to intervene, while deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill has insisted the protocol must stay.

Ireland’s premier Micheal Martin said it had been a ‘mistake’ by the European Commission, but rejected Mrs Foster’s claim that the protocol is unworkable.

Mrs Foster has pressed Prime Minister Boris Johnson to act, describing the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol as ‘unworkable’ and saying it should be replaced

However all three leaders criticised the EU over its short-lived move to override the protocol over export controls on coronavirus vaccines on Friday evening.

Mr Martin said it had been a mistake and that dialogue with London and Brussels would continue to ‘ensure lessons are learned’.

He also confirmed that the Irish Government did not have prior notice of the European Commission’s intentions.

Mrs Foster said it was an ‘absolutely incredible act of hostility’ while Ms O’Neill said it was ‘clearly unwise, ill-judged and totally unnecessary’.

After invoking Article 16 to stop the unimpeded flow of vaccines from the European bloc into Northern Ireland, the EU later backtracked, following condemnation from London, Dublin and Belfast.

So far the UK has placed orders for 367million doses of the seven most promising Covid vaccines — made by AstraZeneca , Pfizer , Moderna, Valneva, Janssen, GlaxoSmithKline and Novavax — at a cost of £2.9billion

In a statement late on Friday, the European Commission said it was ‘not triggering the safeguard clause’ to ensure the protocol was ‘unaffected’ after widespread condemnation of its move as part of its export controls on coronavirus vaccines.

Matt Hancock on Saturday to seek reassurance on vaccine supplies.

‘It’s essential confidence and trust is rebuilt after yesterday’s actions by the EU,’ he tweeted.

‘We need certainty that essential vaccine supplies will always be able to travel freely to NI, both now and in the future.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘The Health Secretary and minister of health for Northern Ireland had a constructive discussion on the supply of Covid-19 vaccines.’

Mrs Foster has pressed Prime Minister Boris Johnson to act, describing the protocol as ‘unworkable’ and saying it should be replaced.

‘It’s absolutely disgraceful, and I have to say the Prime Minister now needs to act very quickly to deal with the real trade flows that are being disrupted between Great Britain and Northern Ireland,’ she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday.

‘The protocol is unworkable, let’s be very clear about that, and we need to see it replaced because otherwise there is going to be real difficulties here in Northern Ireland.’