Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020 was signed into law by the President on 11 September 2020 and it provided An Garda Síochána with statutory enforcement powers to ensure strict adherence to public health measures in licensed premises and registered clubs in respect of the grave risk to human life and public health posed by Covid 19. These provisions are due to expire on 9 November 2020 and the motion before the House is to extend them until 9 June 2021.

I put on record my support for any measures necessary to ensure public health and safety is maintained. We have seen instances in recent times whereby a minority in our society have had total disregard for the public health measures and have placed all of us in danger. That minority has unfortunately brought about a situation where we are all suffering the consequences of increased restrictions. Operation Navigation is aimed at licensed premises and this has seen gardaí engage with licence holders and the public to raise awareness of and adherence to public health measures. Operation Navigation's objective is to ensure licensed premises are complying with public health regulations. I acknowledge that the approach taken by the Garda has been one of engage, educate, encourage and, as a last resort, enforce. It should be noted that the majority of licensed premises have complied with the regulations and we thank them for the sacrifice they are making. I note also the report from the Policing Authority last month showing that the use of enforcement powers by An Garda Síochána as a last resort continues to be modest.

This legislation will make it an offence to organise an event in a private home that is in breach of public health regulations. I have a problem with this measure in that we do not have a clear definition of "event". I am also concerned that people will not fully understand this part of the regulations, which could unfortunately result in people committing an offence because they were unaware it was an offence.

Operation Fanacht is a high-profile Garda operation. The Garda Commissioner has stated that approximately 2,500 gardaí will be involved in this operation and their functions will include community policing, local area policing and roads policing. Part of the reason for this operation is to ensure members of the public do not travel more than 5 km from their homes except for essential purposes. Gardaí are operating highly visible checkpoints on all major routes. In recent weeks, there have been some 130 large-scale checkpoints every day, along with thousands of mobile checkpoints on secondary routes in towns and villages. It is generally agreed that the public, in the main, have fully complied with all health guidelines issued. That is why I believe the highly visible presence of gardaí on our main routes was a mistake. The majority of people have complied with the regulations, yet these checkpoints were placed on main routes. Specifically, the checkpoint on the M1 resulted in unnecessary stress and pressure on people travelling to and from work. Only those deemed to be doing essential work were supposed to be travelling to work, yet these people were faced with nightmare delays on their journeys. I understand there were only two instances where individuals were suspected of breaching travel restriction regulations, whereas the checkpoints impacted on thousands of workers. They were not necessary. I ask the Garda Commissioner to reconsider this approach to ensure the many thousands of workers travelling to work daily are no longer severely hampered by delays of more than two hours in some cases.

I also raise the issue of priests and the likelihood of them facing criminal charges should they celebrate mass in public settings. This issue has been raised before but I do not believe we have received any clear guidelines. From speaking with clergy, I know they are deeply unhappy with the current situation. Some have told me they believe the Government has a totalitarian approach to the current situation. They feel that freedom is slowly being stripped away. One priest expressed the view that priests can now be jailed for celebrating mass in public for the first time since the penal laws in force during British rule were repealed in 1829. He said the Government is orchestrating an attack on priests and the church. As Deputies will appreciate, it took a lot for the priest to say that to me. The bottom line is that the church and priests believe we are all being denied our constitutional right to practise our faith in public. In making that point, the priest stated that when Ireland moved to level 3 restrictions several weeks ago we were the only country in Europe where public worship was prohibited. No other country in Europe adopted the extreme measure of denying people the right to attend public mass or preventing a priest from celebrating a mass in public. Only Wales has followed us in closing its churches and it only adopted that approach for two weeks as part of its firebreak approach.

It is important to note that the churches went far beyond what was required to ensure worshippers were safe. As proof of this point, I understand that not one case of Covid-19 has occurred as a result of someone attending mass. All churches are closed, yet it is clear that churches were one of the safest places to be, outside of the family home, in respect of Covid-19. Priests have made the point that while churches were closed, it was still possible for people to go to beauty salons, hairdressers and mingle with hundreds of other people in large supermarkets. People are now faced with another five weeks of being unable to attend public mass and being denied the sacraments.

After this five-week period, we will either remain on level 5 or move to level 3 or 4. People could still be denied the right to attend public mass. To put this another way, why are God and the celebration of mass not considered essential services, yet off-licences can remain open? The 50 or 100 people mingling in a supermarket cannot worship in their local church while maintaining social distancing measures. The arguments made to me by priests are strong. They believe Ireland is turning into the most anti-Christian country in Europe and it is hard to argue with that. They make the point that we must not allow the current situation to change our relationship with the church and God. It is also hard to argue against that. Many people, particularly among the older generation, have a strong relationship with the church and are finding it difficult to cope. I would appreciate Deputies' support for examining this matter. If we are able to keep the schools open, we must be able to keep our churches open for public worship.

I reiterate that I support any measures necessary to maintain public health guidelines, but they must be evidence-based. I do not agree with the disruption caused to workers going to essential work each day, particularly the disruptive checkpoints on motorways.

Will the Minister give an assurance that no priest will be prosecuted for celebrating mass in public? I ask her for a clear answer and to state in no uncertain terms that no priest will be prosecuted for a public celebration of mass. Will she give me a commitment to examine whether churches will be permitted to hold public masses during the current lockdown? The Minister is present and many priests are listening. Can she please give clarity?

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