Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Governments are responsible for the decisions they make and I am a member of the Government. There is no ambiguity about that. The much more complex and difficult question is this: what will the outcome of this decision be compared to a counterfactual scenario we cannot evaluate, that is, a move to level 5? I know the Deputy wants to ask another question but I will give him one brief example. If we had moved to level 5 this week, it is clear that the number of cases would be lower in six weeks than if we stay at level 3. That is the whole point of the framework. We agree on that. We probably also agree that if we move to level 5 for four weeks, six weeks or whatever period, there would be very serious economic consequences. Just before coming to the Chamber I had a meeting with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform about next year's health budget. That budget, and what the HSE and health workers around the country will do with it, will definitely save lives. There is no simple trade-off. The Deputy will forgive me if I misquote him, but I believe I heard him suggest that this was a trade-off between economic benefit and public health. I promise him it is not. I am the Minister for Health. All I want to do is keep people safe and have the best healthcare system we can possibly have.

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