Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have written to the Taoiseach and Deputy Michael Collins and I raised the issue of people not being allowed to attend mass. There is a limit of 25 for a wedding or a funeral and nobody can go to the church for mass. There is a penal provision in the new Act to prosecute priests. This is the month of November, traditionally a time of the year in the Catholic faith where people pray for their dead and have masses. All other denominations are denied their right to worship as well. Will the Tánaiste please look at the regulations in view of the mental and physical health of people?

People need to be able to go to church. For elderly people, especially, it is their only outing. They love it and they can meet their friends. I do not know whether they can walk in and say a prayer but they cannot have a physical celebration of mass. The archbishops met the Taoiseach but it is falling on deaf ears. Will the Tánaiste please reconsider allowing people attend mass? Most churches are as big as this Chamber. Some of them are huge and there is good ventilation. Churches have made huge provisions for dealing with Covid, which have cost them a lot of money and for which they have got no support. People need to be allowed back to worship in all faiths, but I am talking today about the Catholic Church, especially in the month of November.

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