Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The question is what measures the Government will put in place to ensure workers are protected if a status red alert is issued. Essentially, the answer given by the Minister was a statement of the legal situation, the existing responsibilities of employers and so on. It did not really address the issue. Clear advice was offered by Met Éireann and those who are responsible for monitoring the weather, namely, that it was not safe to be out of doors or travelling and that we should not put ourselves at risk. However, contrary to this advice some employees outside of essential services were forced to go into work, directly or indirectly, even by the State itself.

The question, quite clearly, is what measures the Government is going to take. Red alerts are rare but they are likely to become more common. We have a Bill and a proposal. It may not be perfect in the eyes of the Minister but it is a proposal. There is currently no proposal from Government on the table as to how to address this contradiction, which I think the Government does need to address.

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