Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

People in Ireland are in a difficult position. They are weary of Brexit, which we have been dealing with for three or four years, and now we have Covid-19. We have seen the ineptitude of the Government in dealing with Covid-19. We have also seen the ineptitude of the HSE, which has been unable to cope in any winter in recent years despite having €1 billion extra in annual funding thrown in for good measure to expand the health system. Now we see that we are unable to deal with Covid-19.

I have to wonder if it is all a plan to let the people eat cake. When mention is made of solidarity from Europe, I wonder where that solidarity is. We hear all these statements from Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Michel Barnier and many others but we are in the dying minutes of the game. We will be in November next week. We have only two short months left, including one of the shortest months of the year, and then we have Christmas season. Before we know it, we will be in 2021 and there will still be no deal.

People need to know what will happen. Exporters, farmers, ordinary workers and the many machinery companies that create and export wonderful products need some certainty. What will happen to the truckers? Will there be ten-hour delays at ports? Will there be customs checks and so on? The game is too serious and the stakes too high for all these small business people and those they employ.

We know about all the milk and other exports that go up and down through Northern Ireland and across what is, thankfully, an invisible border that should not be there. The Border is there, unfortunately, and we have to deal with it. We cannot hide and run away from it. I do not know how long ago the then Taoiseach and current Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, came back with a game-changer known as the backstop. Everything was supposed to be fine once we had the backstop. It was as if the Alps were protecting us but that is all gone and the sands have shifted.

We need solidarity from our European partners now more than ever. They should be able to give us that. After all, we have been the best boys in the class in Europe. When the Taoiseach came home from the most recent summit, it became clear that we will be the fourth highest net contributor to the EU. The Taoiseach told us it was a good deal, even though we will be cleaned out. We were cleaned out in the so-called bailout after we bailed out the banks. The EU charged us 6% interest, the highest rate it could charge. We got money from the IMF at the time at a rate of 2.9%. Where is the solidarity? I do not see much of it. The people who I represent in Tipperary, be they farmers, manufacturers, exporters or families, do not see any solidarity. They are worried about the future of their families and their ability to live and survive in 2021 with Brexit, not to mention Covid-19. Where is the solidarity?

We are already at the top of the class in Europe for restrictions. At 12 midnight tomorrow, we will again be at the top of the class. We are jumping up again to show how good we are to Europe. We want to show we are great people because we do this and that. We have the fourth lowest number of cases, although there is no transparency on case numbers and PCR tests. Other Deputies have mentioned the tests that should be done but will not be done. What is the HSE protecting? Why will it not take on some of the people who have come forward with tests at a minuscule cost of €10, €20 and €30 per head? The HSE prefers to pay €195 per head. It is all about control because if there is a new test, the HSE might be found out.

We need honesty and integrity in the system. We need support and we need to remove the blindfolds from people's eyes. We must be honest and level with the people because, thankfully, the numbers of deaths in Ireland are lower than they were in 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2015. One death is one too many. Why can people not wake up and see this and tear the answers out of the Government if it will not give them freely? The Government will not give the answers because it is all about control. The media are controlled as well.

The House will discuss restrictions tomorrow night and we will have the Garda issuing fines. We will crucify and perish our people. We are commemorating the anniversary of the death of Seán Treacy and the two O'Dwyer brothers who were murdered in Bansha by crown forces last Sunday 100 years ago, yet here we are perishing our nation and destroying our children and our future. We are throwing billions of euro at this. Where is the Government getting that money? Who is giving it the money which has to be paid back?

We have no honesty or transparency. We have a health system that is not fit for purpose and has left us in this perilous situation. I have come to the conclusion that this is being done deliberately to let old people die. We will kill all the young people with abortion. Some 6,666 of them were aborted last year in Ireland. That is what the Government is at. We cherish the people equally but not the unborn or the elderly. I ask the Minister of State to level with the people. We should get solidarity from Europe on this. Why do we have to be the best boys in the class when we get nowhere and get no thanks for it?

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