Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I call on Dáil Éireann to annul the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 4) Regulations 2020, SI No. 326 of 2020 because of the restrictions on events in private dwellings and hotels. Throughout the country, the hotel industry showed resilience and the reopening was phenomenal. What the hotels did for staycation holiday makers was unbelievable. How does the Government reward them? It does so with more restrictions. Everyone had their staycations and the media looked at it and showed people throughout the country having staycations and massive crowds. The hoteliers and businesses looked after them. Now the Government has brought forward these restrictions.

It is an overreach of the Government and it is too much. I call on the backbenchers to put their money where their mouths are. Will they support this annulment for the hotels in Donegal and the pubs in Clare, Limerick and Kerry? Will they support this for the IFA, Macra na Feirme and organisations that can have only six at a meeting? There is not one bit of common sense in what has been brought forward. Look at this House. There are 159 Deputies who can all turn up to the building today. We restrict who comes in and out of the Chamber but they can all go to their offices in this building. That is more than 50 people. We are using common sense and we bring masks. We keep our health to the fore. Why can we not give this responsibility to the people of Ireland? The majority of people in Ireland take responsibility for their health and their families, children and surroundings. They are not kindergarten children. We have a minority of people who lack respect for other people. Last week, amendments were tabled that could have changed things. The Bill could have been worded differently to deal with these people but the Government came in with restrictions that make no sense whatsoever.

Someone in my house has an underlying condition. It was diagnosed in February. I have been coming to the House and taking all the precautions I can here and while travelling up and down, watching where I am staying and keeping within an environment to make sure I keep my family safe. The Bill means the Minister is trying to tell me what to do and where to do it. The Covid restrictions have shown that once people travel beyond the speed limits of any city, there is no infrastructure for them to work from home. No public houses were allowed to open. All of the restrictions were put in place and people honoured them. There are places that have not opened since the lockdown. Anyone in a place where there was footfall had infrastructure and could get a taxi to places. Whatever they had to do, they were able to get there. Once people go beyond the speed limit of a city, they are considered rural because of the lack of infrastructure. People in the cities are now trying to get out of them and get space because they are overpopulated. We can see from the airports what they are trying to do. They are trying to get 10 million more people into Dublin while Shannon Airport is being closed. Where are they going for their staycations? They are going down to Kerry, Cork, Galway and Limerick. That is what they are doing but everything is invested in Dublin. Common sense tells us to open up places and put in the restrictions so they are there for everybody. Personal responsibility lies with everyone and the people who go outside those restrictions can be dealt with through the law.

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