Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. We have learned a lot from the different lockdowns. Among the big differences between the first one and the second one is that we kept open the schools and childcare on this occasion and we also kept construction and manufacturing going. While we have seen 100,000 more people end up on the pandemic unemployment payment, which is terrible, as a consequence of level 5, it would have been very much higher had we closed construction and manufacturing as well. That would have had consequences also in terms of trade and housing supply. I am glad we took the decision to keep those sectors open and operating.

I do not know yet what will happen on 1 December, whether we will be able to move to level 3 or level 2 or some sort of combination of levels, but I will continue to keep in touch with the business organisations. In fact, I will make a point of engaging with them before that decision is made and also when it is made because the implications will be significant.

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