Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Boyd Barrett on this. The whole tenet of this legislation appears to be just to place the blame on householders and that householders are responsible for everything that is happening with Covid. One would imagine that Covid was lurking somewhere in the utility room or in the kitchen waiting to get out and that the only way to get out was through the householders. We know that is not the case.

We actually almost had it beaten in and around June and July but the Government lost the run of itself. It started listening to calls to open up business and everything else. That is what caused the virus to spurt back and led us to where we are now. The argument now is to try and turn it around with householders and individuals to blame for this crisis and this response. It clearly is not the case.

The biggest action the Government could take to defeat this virus would be to introduce universal sick pay. This virus is prevalent among the low paid, badly paid and neglected workforces. It is prevalent among low-paid retail workers and foreign workers in meat factories, for example. Universal sick pay would do far more than restricting people's households. The legislation gives the Garda powers to go into households when it does not need them. The Garda has said it does not want this power. The Garda Inspectorate also said it does not need or want this power. What is the reason for this then? It must be to deflect away from the actual cause of the problem. That is what we should be discussing and finding out about here.

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