Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Minister's statement that these matters will be kept under view. The date of 1 January is potentially problematic because the Dáil will not be sitting and God knows how the pandemic will go. Obviously, we all hope that it will go in the right direction and the numbers will decrease, but it could also go in the other direction and the Government could face the same situation it faced in the aftermath of last Christmas and have to take drastic decisions. Therefore, the Dáil would have to be reconvened to pass legislation. Would it not be more appropriate on Report Stage to consider giving the Minister a power to allow the date to be extended with subsequent approval by the Dáil?