David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

“To delete the words ‘9th day of June, 2021’ and to substitute the words ‘9th day of February, 2021’ therefor.”

To the Minister for Health, I say that we all want to play our part in making sure that a date is ready and that we are equipped to deal with the real challenge Covid presents. We all support public health measures and interventions which will allow us to wrestle the virus back under control, which we need to do. We also need to use the coming weeks, to which I will refer later, to prepare so that we can stay ahead of the virus if and when we manage to bring the numbers down.

This works both ways, however. When the Minister looks for support from us, and we give it as we want to support the public health measures, the Government and the Minister for Health must respond appropriately. The level of co-operation with the Opposition seen during the very early stages of the pandemic does not exist today. There are not enough briefings. Even before today's debate, all of the Opposition representatives on the Business Committee had to fight for even the limited time we have been given today to debate this issue. The Government's original proposal was that both motions, that on mental health and this motion on the Minister's wider powers over all restrictions, would be taken without debate and that there were to be no briefings for the Opposition.

I believe some in Government briefed the media about some of those who attended briefings, including my own party leader who left a briefing with the Chief Medical Officer at the same time he did, leading to irresponsible and inaccurate coverage in some newspapers.

We are not getting as many briefings as we should and we are not getting information as we should be getting it. Even yesterday, with regard to the Health (Amendment) Bill 2020, which relates to fines, the Joint Committee on Health was told that the Minister would be available to give us a briefing. We then got a call to say that he would not be. I am sure there was a good reason for that and I am not saying that the Minister was responsible. I am only telling him what was communicated to us. We were told the Minister for Health would be available. I then got a call from the clerk of that committee to say that the Minister would now not be available because of a meeting. We then got a briefing from a number of officials who, by the way, did not answer all of our questions to our satisfaction. This was not because they did not have the answers but because the answers were not actually in the Bill. We were being asked to sign a blank cheque, with which we will deal tomorrow when that legislation comes before us.

The Minister was given extraordinary powers in good faith by Members of this House. To push the sunset clause out until 9 June is to push it too far. That is why we have proposed an amendment under which the horizon date would be 9 February. It would be appropriate for the Minister to return to the House in February rather than June to extend the emergency powers again, if necessary, and to explain the context in which they are needed. This has to be part of an overall strategy which people can see and which shows how we are to exit from these types of restrictions and the sort of yo-yo situation about which people talk. We do not see such a clear plan coming from Government. In the absence of this plan, we have a Government which seeks these powers for a further six months, up until the middle of June. That is a step too far for us not because we do not want restrictions or do not believe public health measures should be implemented, but because we believe in scrutiny and accountability.

We need notice from the Minister when he publishes statutory instruments. I find out that statutory instruments have been introduced when they go up on the website. Most of us here are the health spokespersons for our parties but we are given no heads-up whatsoever. We get no email from the Department to say that the Minister is going to publish a statutory instrument, which will be available online, and to offer us a briefing or clarification on it. None of this happens. I say all of this in good faith. I want this to change. The more information we have, the better armed we are to respond to queries from people outside of this Chamber.

I have already made the point that this must be part of an overall strategy. This motion again extends the sunset clause, allowing the Minister to bring in further restrictions and statutory instruments and to do many other things as well. People watching this debate, possibly from home, want a clear strategy and plan from Government. They do not have the sense that such a plan exists.

As part of this, we have to ensure that our defences and capacity in a number of areas are built up. We are now going into a lockdown of six weeks, or at least four, and possibly more if the numbers do not come down. This will mean real challenges for working families and businesses. We all accept that. Many people are not going to work today because their jobs are temporarily gone. They are surviving on incomes far lower than they would have if working. That is a real challenge for them. We are making a real ask of them as individuals. While we make this ask of individuals, it is important that the State step up to the plate. That means using the coming weeks wisely instead of repeating what happened over the summer when we got as close to zero Covid as possible but wasted these months by not putting capacity into our hospitals and our testing and tracing systems. This is now coming home to roost.

We can see what is happening with tracing. I ask the Minister to tell us clearly how many people have been hired of the 1,200 promised new staff for testing and tracing, because I still have not been given the number. I have asked. I have submitted parliamentary questions. Having that number is important if we are to be assured and reassured that there is capacity in the system. Testing and tracing has to be front and centre. While the Minister is looking at imposing restrictions and public health interventions, which are necessary, and everything else this Bill does, other measures need to be put in place to go in tandem with these provisions so that people will know their sacrifices are not in vain. Ratcheting up capacity in testing and tracing is one such measure.

We also need to hire as many front-line staff as we can get for our healthcare system. In the budget, the Minister promised to hire 16,000 new personnel. We have not been given a breakdown of this number. In fact, the Joint Committee on Health this week received a one-paragraph response from the HSE which said that a plan would be available in the coming weeks. We are producing plans to plan again as opposed to having the detail worked out. We are still none the wiser as to how many additional staff are to be brought in. As Deputy Kelly has pointed out, we have fewer nurses in the system now than we had before the pandemic began, even with the additional recruitment which has taken place. We need to see all of that happen.

Almost 1,500 people who responded to the Be on Call for Ireland initiative are in a pool, more than 800 of whom are job-ready, but have not yet been given a contract. That is completely unacceptable. The Minister needs to get a grip on that and ensure that those people who are available and qualified to work on the front line in our hospitals and in testing and tracing are given the opportunity to do so.

We also need a joined-up approach. While the Minister seeks emergency powers in these areas, he needs to co-operate more with his counterpart in the North. The Chief Medical Officers in the North and South need to be more aligned. This is an all-island crisis that merits an all-island response. The memorandum of understanding that was signed is not working, or at least not working to my satisfaction. More needs to be done. I would like to hear the Minister tell us what engagement he has had with his colleague in the North. I would also like to know what more the Government is doing, or intends to do, with regard to an all-island response whether in the area of testing and tracing, the area of ports, airports and transport or the area of sharing data and information, because that must also be at the core of our response. We also need to see all of the income supports put in place for workers, families and businesses.

In concluding my remarks I will again in good faith say to the Minister that Members of this House want to work with Government. We work with public health officials. We want to support all of the public health measures that need to be in place to ensure that people are kept safe, but we have to be kept in the loop. If the Minister is honest with himself, and if the thinks back to when he was an Opposition health spokesperson, the previous Government was in place and the pandemic was at its height in April and May, he will recognise that there was much better cohesion and co-operation and much more respect shown to members of the Opposition than is now being shown. I appeal to him to sort that problem out so that we are better equipped with information and better able to respond to queries.

My final point is that we sought a direct line for Oireachtas Members to contact the Department in respect of the most recent restrictions. There are many exemptions to what is allowed and not allowed but we have no facility to get clarity on issues. That is absolute madness.

We are all inundated with calls from constituents, with queries such as what the restrictions mean for gyms and other places of work. Some businesses are trying to circumvent the rules by selling products just so they can remain open. Workers are calling us to ask what they should do, and we are left hanging, with absolutely no facility to get responses to questions. That is not acceptable. People are being asked to make sacrifices and restrictions are being put in place, but they are simply being guided to a website that gives generalities. When specific questions are asked, however, we do not get answers because there is no facility to do that, other than parliamentary questions. If the Minister wants us to flood the system of parliamentary questions, that is fair enough.

I do not believe that is that way to do this, so I again appeal to him to set up a system that will allow Oireachtas Members to get information as quickly as possible so we can respond to our constituents and provide clarity. If something is not allowed, then it is not allowed, but we could then give that information very clearly, as opposed to trying to interpret what is there. I appeal to the Minister to do all that, to work with the Opposition and to ensure there are more briefings, more information and, dare I say it, more respect shown to Opposition Members.

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