Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputies Boyd Barrett and Pringle raised the point about dwelling events. Their argument, if I understood it correctly, is that taking measures that prevent certain things happening in houses means we are therefore somehow blaming, scapegoating and attacking people who live in houses. If that is the Deputies' view, that is fine, but it would have to be applied to every measure. As Deputy McGrath has said, the regulations apply to religious events. By the way, the churches are not closed. Anyone can go into a church. The Deputies' logic would also suggest that anything referred to in the regulations, including sporting events and travel, is somehow being blamed. That is not what we are doing. The approach from day one, as laid out in section 2 of the Bill, has been to suppress the virus through measures that are as targeted as possible. As we get better and better evidence of what interactions spread the virus, we will target those interactions in order to protect human life and health, the health service, education, childcare and jobs. That is broadly the strategy that is being deployed.

These provisions are included in section 2 because there is very strong public health evidence showing that the virus is spreading most prodigiously within households and between households. That is not really a matter of opinion. Those are the facts gathered by the testing and contact tracing systems. The advice I have received from the Chief Medical Officer and the data backing that advice both say that the majority of transmission is happening within and between households. The Chief Medical Officer therefore deems it necessary for restrictions to address those locations which account for the majority of transmission. The Government agrees with that. That is why the definition is included in section 2.

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