The HSE has been urged to get "up off its hands" to ensure a quick vaccination programme is rolled out across County Longford.
County Councillors have sharply criticized health officials after it took almost a month to identify a suitable site in Newtownforbes to develop a base for mass vaccinations.
The Covid vaccine roll out by the HSE and government was described as a 'scandal' at the March Meeting of Longford County Council this week.
Councillor Peggy Nolan made the comments just hours after the sports complex in Newtownforbes was confirmed as the site for a mass vaccination centre in the county.
Sites such as Slashers, Edgeworthstown and the Longford ruby club were all deemed unsuitable by the HSE before the site on the N4 was approved this week.
Councillor Nolan claimed that several local communities had tried to help the HSE in Longford, but were met by obstacles from the HSE.
Fianna Fail's Seamus Butler claimed that the vaccination centre policy was like someone buying a shop but not having any stock in it and reiterated his claim that the programme needs to be put on a 'war footing' and described the supply of vaccines as a 'hames'.
Councillor PJ Reilly, who is a member of the local health forum said it would have been very embarrassing if a location could not have been found in Longford, and his colleague Councillor Gerry Warnock expressed annoyance that the county had to fight for the centre and that the way the vaccines has been rolled was nothing short of disgraceful and Ireland was the butt end of Europe again
