Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister of State the best in his position. This has been my first opportunity to congratulate him and wish him well.

On Thursday last, 110 Deputies in this Dáil fell over themselves to vote in favour of the Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020, giving further powers to the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and others. The Deputies, from Sinn Féin, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Labour Party, the Green Party, the Social Democrats and the so-called Independents in the Regional Group, all turned their back on the hard-working people of this country. The Garda representative groups - the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors - cast doubt on the Bill. Astonishingly, within hours, exactly what the Rural Independent Group feared would be an abuse of powers was blatantly jammed down our throats when the Minister for Health seized on his new powers by signing a statutory instrument forcing something to take place without any debate. The statutory instrument was to have a significant impact on how we conduct our daily lives. In this regard, consider the stance of Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil Deputies, as well as the Labour Party Deputies, although I do not know what they believe this evening. The Labour Party Deputies were criticising the measure last Friday and talking about contradictions. Deputy Alan Kelly was calling the instrument bonkers last weekend but this evening it looks like there is a different story. Many Deputies returned to their constituencies on Thursday night and got it in the neck from constituents who have had enough. Constituents told them in no uncertain terms where they stood. I have heard Deputy after Deputy speak out of both sides of their mouths today. Their parties came out last week in criticism of the measure and today they are partly criticising it and partly backing it. We will know in a minute whether they are misleading their constituents. They are trying to cod their constituents but they will not do that.

The statutory instrument that came into effect last week limits the numbers of people attending indoor and outdoor events. With certain exceptions, businesses and services on whose premises intoxicating liquor is sold or supplied for consumption must keep a record of the time and date of arrival in the premises of a group or sole customer, and the name and telephone number of the lead person in the group. These businesses and services must also keep a record of the substantial meals ordered. A respected senior counsel, Ms Constance Cassidy, said the publicans or restaurateurs must, under section 13, make a full record of a substantial meal or all substantial meals ordered by each member of a party or persons and that those records must be retained by a publican for 28 days. She said that if they do not retain them and thus commit an offence, they can be fined €2,500 or imprisoned for six months. The Social Democrats, Sinn Féin and the Regional Group should note what Ms Cassidy said. She said that it seems to her that the provision involves the use of a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Why did 110 Deputies not see what others saw? Why were they so blinded that they supported such a brutal law? Where is the general data protection regulation, GDPR, now? It is something that is being used to hide behind everything nowadays. For 28 days, our personal information is to lie in every public house and every restaurant, without a worry in the world. We in the Rural Independent Group were the only ones to listen to those who elected us and state in the Dáil that we would absolutely not support the measure. Thousands of pubs in this country have now been closed for 179 days - in other words, six months. Fianna Fáil, backed by Fine Gael, singled them out, without any sign of evidence, as if they were to blame for Covid-19.

Other businesses, be they hotels, restaurants, food outlets, pubs or cafés, all opened with guidelines. Almost all have adhered to them, even if it has cost them dearly by hiring extra staff. They respect the rules and they are doing all they can to protect their customers. I have visited, supported and spoken to many owners of these businesses in Allihies, Castletownbere, Glengarriff, Schull, Goleen, Ballydehob, Durrus, Skibbereen, Clonakilty, Union Hall, Bandon, Dunmanway, Bantry and Kinsale. Every one of them has bent over backwards to abide by the rules. They feel the finger is being pointed at them by Fine Fáil and Fine Gael and they are not being supported.

For six months, so-called wet pubs were pointed out wrongly by the Government and publicans throughout west Cork and the country faced ruination due to this show of power by a Government completely out of touch with reality. These publicans were promised compensation packages and were codded because they got nothing short of crumbs from this Government that clearly had a hidden agenda. It is the very same agenda Fine Gael had for four years in the previous Government, that is, close the rural pubs. While these publicans understood 179 days ago why they were closed, they in no way thought this Fianna Fáil-led Government would keep the door slammed throughout the country. They thought the backbenchers in the Government could at least speak out against the out-of-touch powers to stop pointing at one sector as being the cause of Covid-19. These backbenchers failed miserably and ended up aiding and abetting these closures, crying crocodile tears to the publicans, their families and their customers in their constituencies.

It was amazing to see the advice right across Europe and the world was to open pubs with guidelines. Ireland, however, had to do something different and go against all common sense. When the Rural Independent Group forced the Dáil to reconvene, the Government cracked and allowed the pubs to open. I am delighted to think we have this power to put the Government running but we should not have had to go to these lengths to have common sense apply.

In the new era in politics, certain politicians want Irish rural pubs shut. These people want café bars out in the streets like one sees in some European countries. They have forgotten, however, the towns and villages in Ireland with some mighty pubs that have safeguarded their customers. Some of these are in west Cork in Kealkill, Coppeen, Balinneen, Enniskeane, Leap, Rosscarbery, Bandon, Lisheen, Ballinspittle, Kilbrittain, Eyries, Courtmacsharry, Adrigole, Baltimore, Drimoleague, Innishannon, Timoleague and Barryroe. All these businesses are on the verge of collapse and did not need more rules and regulations even before they opened their doors, further piling unbelievable pressure on them.

Many publicans are dreading the next number of months as the moratorium on mortgage repayments is coming to an end. The Government is forcing these businesses into mortgage default and we know what happens then - the bullies in the vulture funds step in. It all seems like a big plan and it is one that has not gone unnoticed. Will the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputies Donohoe and Michael McGrath, respectively, to step in and prove this is not a plan. Will they at least work with the banks to continue the moratorium for another six months for these publicans?

The Government ruined these businesses. It should at least stand up and fight for them for once and show it cares for rural businesses rather than crying crocodile tears for them. To all those Deputies who could not wait to support the criminal justice legislation last week without worrying about the consequences to the public, I say that this must end here. I have often seen Members vote one way in the Dáil and shout and roar the other way the next day. They should stand by the people who elect them. Listen to those who are stretched to the limit doing all they can to do things right in this pandemic. They should respect and encourage people if they want to bring people with them and do not want them to turn against them. They have lost the confidence of the people by dithering and dathering. I am pointing this out to the Government and to many of the Opposition parties that are doing nothing but adding to the confusion out there already.

Statutory instruments should never be used by a Government. It dictates to people and kicks the democracy of the State in the teeth. Only in the past two weeks, the Taoiseach signed another statutory instrument piling penalty points on the hardworking fishermen of west Cork and Ireland, much to the fury of the fishermen of Castletownbere, Bantry, Schull, Union Hall, Kinsale and throughout west Cork and Ireland. These fishermen have publicly stated in the Southern Starthat it is game over now for the fishing industry thanks to the statutory instruments signed by the Fianna Fáil Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, without debate. Astonishingly, Fianna Fáil voted against this measure two years ago in the Dáil. A man in west Cork said to me that when we had no Dáil a few weeks ago, the Taoiseach signed this statutory instrument and the cats were out and the mice did play, much to the cost of the fishing industry in this country. Well done Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. They keep kicking the fisherman. They have no shame in signing this instrument without debate. They are only too delighted to dictate.

We must live with Covid-19 and we can live safely with this curse upon our people. It is time for the Government to wake up. What is wrong that parents who take their children to matches cannot stand in the massive surrounds of the ground safely instead of driving home and back again? Supporters stand on boxes and ladders outside pitches looking in at matches in grounds where they could stand 20 ft or 30 ft apart from each other. There is no common sense any more and people are more and more frustrated.

Where is Fáilte Ireland in all of this? Why is it dictating to the country? Who made it God almighty in this country? The same applies to NPHET. Fáilte Ireland had many questions to answer in recent months and it should stop dictating to us how to run or country, pubs, towns and villages.

I plead with every Deputy from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party, the Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, Solidarity-People Before Profit, the Labour Party and others to support this motion and listen to their constituents and those who are abusing the power they have. They should not scream one thing today and do another thing tomorrow.

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