Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is quite all right. I thank Deputy O'Donnell for sharing his time. I want to address two matters that I think NPHET, the Minister for Health and the public should be considering about the current phase of where we are with Covid-19. These issues have raised their heads since the schools reopened, as businesses are opening more prevalently and more people are in our towns, villages and cities. I strongly urge the public to wear masks outside schools. I have dropped my children to school on a number of occasions, as I am sure many other Members have. Even with staggered start times for our primary schools, the areas outside of most school gates are awash with parents. Some of those parents have not seen one another in a number of months and it is inevitable that chats happen. It is important that NPHET and the Minister for Health make a statement to parents asking them to wear masks, where possible.

The same goes for our busy streets. I have been in and around the city since the Dáil resumed in early September. I was also in the city centre in August and, of course, all Members were here in June and July. The city is slowly starting to get busier and there are places where a large number of people congregate, for example at lights as they wait to cross the street, etc. We have to start giving consideration to the transmission rates that are there in the community and we must recognise that those transmission rates will be dramatically reduced if people wear masks in the right setting. I appreciate that is outdoors but I still think people need to make the right choices. I just wanted to take two minutes to say that.

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