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

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the roadmap. I will start simply by echoing the statements of other Members on the direction of the roadmap regarding businesses closing, reopening and then closing again and the long-term consequences not only for our economy but also for those who work in the businesses and industries that have been devastated over recent months. As we know and have accepted at this stage, we will be living with Covid for well in excess of 12 months, if not more. Even if a vaccination or feasible treatment is developed in the next few months, it will probably take 12 to 18 months to roll it out to the country. We have to take that on board.

I want to focus primarily on mental health, fatigue associated with Covid, messaging and the lack of positivity, among citizens as opposed to the State, regarding how well we as a country have managed to deal with this virus. In spring, there were camaraderie and togetherness in communities throughout the country, with people working together to help the vulnerable, including the elderly and the immunocompromised. The exceptional weather probably helped to raise people's spirits but we are now approaching the winter, when we will be facing 14 or 15 hours of darkness per day. In the context of mental health, the manner in which people are being bombarded with information, often negative, in the guise of necessary information is problematic. NPHET and the Minister need to spend a little more time talking about the fact that citizens in general have done exceptional work in stepping away from one another and taking the responsible steps of wearing a mask, washing hands and respecting cough etiquette.

To echo the comments of the previous speaker, it is problematic when the media, to a certain extent, and others regard younger people or other groups as the cause of a resurgence of Covid-19. We are all in this together, or so we have been saying for the past seven months. We have to take responsibility. The scenes from Galway over the past couple of days really make one's heart sink. The scenes in nearly every village and town I visited in the past few months would make one's heart sink.

To be constructive, however, I want to reiterate what I have said to the Minister. In fairness to him, he has already implemented some of the requests made of him regarding the provision of information allowing people to see where there is Covid in their community. Most people - 1.8 million, in fact - have a Covid app that allows NPHET to communicate directly to them. That app and the opportunity it presents are not being used properly by NPHET. There is an opportunity to convey information directly to people about localised outbreaks and what people could and should be doing to prevent them. I have not yet seen what I suggest and it is critical that we now take that step.

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