Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was just out in the sunshine and one could nearly say that today's weather is extreme because it is approximately seven months since we last had a day like it. It is great to see.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this Bill, which I commend Sinn Féin on introducing. Unfortunately, our party cannot support aspects of it. While we support the spirit of the Bill, technical issues prevent us from supporting it in moving forward.

The Bill has two parts, the first of which makes it an offence to endanger lives recklessly during a red alert warning through actions such as swimming in the sea, mountain climbing and so on. The second makes it mandatory to close a workplace in a red alert area. While we strongly support the first issue, the latter is already covered by the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, which I will reference again.

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