Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Cullinane.

This year has tested us all. It has tested our mettle, our resolve and our resilience. None of us could have expected that we would live this reality, with our people and our communities robbed of the simple everyday things that make up our lives. It has been a year of stress, worry and uncertainty brought by a global pandemic.

People have lost. People have missed out. Thousands have lost their jobs and their incomes. Many have lost their businesses and their plans for the future. We have all missed out on precious time with our families and we miss out on our simple routines.

Most tragically, thousands of families have lost a loved one to this awful virus, and while we all may wonder what kind of Christmas we will be able to have this year, we know that for these families Christmas this year will be defined by the pain and sorrow of the empty chair. We, therefore, send our heartfelt condolences and good wishes to every grieving family.

It is also important to recognise how much effort has been made - the work of our front-line staff, the fantastic work in local communities, and the patience and discipline shown by all our people, especially by our young people. While it is usually those moments where people make mistakes or fail to live up to the public health standards that make the headlines, the truth is that our people have been inspirational and we are enduring and will endure and prevail because of their kindness, their compassion and their social solidarity.

Recent news of progress with vaccines has brought much needed hope as we finally see some glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. However, this Christmas will be like no other and we must acknowledge that.

We must also acknowledge that being with family will take on an additional significance this year for people at home and abroad. Of course, people will not travel home from abroad as they do in other years, but common sense and compassion needs to be applied, especially for families that have had a particularly bad year such as those who have suffered a bereavement but who could not come home to grieve and families with elderly relatives, perhaps isolated all year struggling with separation and mental health challenges.

For them, coming home this Christmas is an essential journey. I am calling for compassion and common sense to guide all public health advice on Christmas travel, family meetings and socialising this season.

There are people who have not seen a day's work since March. Their family income has been decimated and they face into Christmas very unsure not just about Christmas but about their future. On 21 October, we entered into level 5 restrictions. This was a tough but necessary decision to suppress the spread of the virus, stop people getting sick and prevent our health services from becoming overwhelmed. It was a huge body blow for everyone. People had made enormous sacrifices during the first lockdown to flatten the curve and to get transmission of the virus down to manageable levels. This dedication and collective effort bought the Government time and space to do the things necessary to give us the very best chance of avoiding yo-yoing in and out of damaging lockdowns. However, if "We are all in this together" was the Government mantra in the initial months of this pandemic, that was torn up by the decisions the Government made this autumn.

When entry into level 5 was announced, we said it would be unforgivable for Government to waste a second opportunity to do things right. We said that the lockdown must be used to put in place everything needed to get the virus under control and to keep it under control. We said that the aim of all must be that what we do now helps avoid future lockdowns. We said that it would be devastating to tell businesses that they can open up now only to shut them down again in a couple of weeks. We said that could prove to be a body blow for some from which they might not recover and we asked the Government to put in place measures that would provide much-needed certainty for workers and business. The lockdown was tough but it was the Government's opportunity to get on top of the virus. Now the question is whether the Government has done enough. Is testing and tracing now fit for purpose? Is mass testing on the cards? Is testing at our airports and ports to be delivered? I think the answer to all of these questions is “No”. This is compounded by the fact that we still do not have an all-Ireland plan for tackling the virus. The deficit is much more than one simple data set; we need a full strategy and plan.

All of these failures leave us vulnerable to infection and lockdown in the new year and that is not good enough. We need to agree on that and that we can do so much better. The plan for the roll-out of the vaccines must be comprehensive and carry with it all necessary urgency. Economic and income supports need to stay in place while there is any prospect of restrictions, so that workers and businesses have the best possible chance to come back next year. By the way, arbitrary deadlines do not work on these matters and lead to very great uncertainty. While I welcome the extension of the pandemic unemployment payment, we need to ensure that any cuts the Government may have had in mind are not proceeded with.

People have been through so much and now we look forward to Christmas and being together with family again. As we head into the new year, we need to give people hope that we can emerge from this unprecedented crisis stronger, fairer and better. We must prioritise affordable housing, improving our public health system and addressing youth unemployment. We must prioritise those who have lost jobs and livelihoods, the forgotten carers and the young people now worried about their futures. We must learn from Covid. We need to learn what really matters and then act on that.

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