Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Previous speakers have taken a lot of time and I want to ensure I leave an opportunity for others who are waiting to speak. Several Deputies have argued that we all need to work together. We should do the same to ensure we all get a chance to say what we have to say in the time available.

Several speakers made the point that NPHET's advice was ignored in advance of the current lockdown. My view at the time was that it was not ignored but it needed to be discussed. It was the way the story was leaked that caused panic and led to people running to shops. When the current restrictions were announced, people were behaving as if it was the end of the world and they needed to get their shopping done. It is the false spin and scare tactics that caused the spike in infection rates over the past two weeks. We must ensure that the message that goes out to people is a clear one. There must be an end to the leaking of information bit by bit. Before we left the Chamber last night, there was talk that sanitising personnel had gone into a particular school and that all schools would now be closed. We found out today that this particular piece of scaremongering was untrue. The information that goes out to people must be definitive and there must be an end to the spin.

I am seeking definitive answers from the Minister on a particular matter. I have some chance of getting answers to my questions but members of the public have no chance. I started a process last night to ascertain the status of music schools that provide classes for junior certificate, leaving certificate and college students. They are in limbo at this time. When I spoke to the Minister about it yesterday, he said it was a matter for the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Foley. When I took the matter to that Minister, I was told I should bring it to the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. I was then advised by the latter to go back to the Minister for Education and Skills. If Deputies are being sent around in circles, what chance do members of the public have of getting definitive answers to their questions? We need clear answers and clear instructions. Are music schools that provide lessons for schools that do not have the facilities to teach music but have the facilities to hold the examinations allowed to open?

I do not want to go around in circles again. I want one Minister to take clear action on this matter and to give me a clear answer. Today, and since this Government was formed, we have seen a massive divide between city and county. If a 5 km restriction is introduced in a city, one can get everything one needs. If a 5 km restriction is introduced in a county, one cannot. We need to ensure that facilities are available for people within their counties. There must be clear instructions rather than spin leaking out for a headline. The Government should stop scaring people and then coming out with amendments afterwards. We have a problem here. If things are to be agreed, they need to be agreed properly and communicated to the public properly. We all know that bad news sells media and papers. The small minority of good news also sells papers but it is all spin. We need clear direction.

As other Deputies indicated, appearances on "The Late Late Show" will not get messages out to the public. I told another Deputy yesterday that we had something up on social media. He asked if it was on Twitter before saying that I was too old for Twitter. This is what was said to me. The way forward is to make use of every form of media through which we can get clear decisive information out to people. If our Government cannot give us that information and cover the whole country and every sector, what hope do we have?

As I said at the outset, I have gone to three Ministers on this issue and have been sent around in a circle. I have asked a question about people who are getting music classes as part of their junior certificate, leaving certificate or college studies. The Limerick School of Music is aligned with the education and training board. Other schools do not have facilities for music in the school so parents outsource and pay for their children to study music for the junior certificate, leaving certificate or college education. These students sit examinations in the school. Are they part of the education system or are they not? Will people in rural Ireland be discriminated against because some schools do not have facilities for music classes? If students are sitting examinations in school, these classes must be educational. I need a Minister to make a decision in this regard and to let these people know the position, one way or the other.

Some of the stuff put out today suggests that, even under level 3, one-on-one tuition is not allowed. If one is paying for a music class, it may be taught one on one. People attending such classes will have their own instruments and can sit in their own chair. We are doing it here. We are all 2 m apart. If the facilities are available to do this, if people are using all their own equipment and if the classes are educational and being pursued for the purposes of one's examinations, the schools should be allowed open, with the proper guidelines in place.

The same situation pertains to the marts in our farming sector. The marts cover 4 or 5 acres of ground at a minimum. Something could be put in place for the farmers. If one goes to rural areas anywhere in the country, one will see that the Internet service is poor. People say marts can be held over Zoom or social media but they cannot. Let us get real. It is a question of county versus city. County does not have infrastructure or the Internet but the city does. Can we please make rules that cover everyone?

See this speech in context