Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all of the witnesses. Senator Hoey asked all of the questions I was going to ask. I am delighted that the witnesses were in a position to answer them.

There is no doubt that we must remember that when the original legislation was introduced, it was stated that it was a temporary measure. That is clearly not the case one year later, which is very worrying. It is a very dangerous precedent to accept that this legislation can be renewed every six months without democratic debate. Yesterday, I was also very unhappy that we only had an hour in which to discuss this issue.

The protection of the human rights and mental health of Irish citizens is a priority for us. I do not feel that the extension of the timeline without debate is acceptable by any means. In fact, this week I co-signed an amendment, tabled by my colleague, Senator Higgins, in respect of the Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill which calls on the Minister to lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a detailed and specific report on the operation and impact of each of the four emergency Acts by 9 September 2021. I am concerned that, thus far, the Department has not conducted a review of the emergency health legislation in light of its far-reaching powers. It is also far from best practice to agree to this Bill without information on how the effect of granting these extraordinary powers have had to date on the fundamental rights as well as the mental health of the Irish population.

As already stated, Senator Hoey asked the questions I intended to pose. I ask the witnesses to forgive me if they have already responded because I missed some of the discussion earlier. Are there specific categories that this report must examine so that we can learn from the past 14 months? From the point of view of human rights and mental health, what are the top priority areas that need to be examined initially when the legislation is being reviewed?