Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Since Covid-19 landed on our shores nine months ago, we have been living in a type of suspended animation. More than 70,000 people have contracted Covid and, sadly, more than 2,000 people have lost their lives due to this virus. On behalf of the Labour Party, I express solidarity with all of those who have been impacted by Covid-19, especially those who will have a loved one missing from the dinner table this Christmas.

The Government has to make some extremely difficult decisions this week when it comes to Covid-19 and exiting level 5 restrictions. We want to see, as does the public, that the experiences and learning of the past eight months have been taken on board for planning the exit from level 5. There needs to be a slow, methodical, evidence-based step-down approach and a moving through the levels. There needs to be proper messaging on public health guidelines, social distancing, mask wearing and handwashing, and clear and concise communication from the Government on the nature of the restrictions at each point of the scale.

It is pleasing to see the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health engaging at present. Perhaps it would be useful if they listened to what Opposition Members have to say.

Christmas in Ireland will officially start when the "Late Late Toy Show" is aired on Friday, and whether or not one is a Christian, it is a special time of celebration here. We need to be acutely aware of the added complications that will come with the festive season this year. Our contact tracing system must also be able to cope with any increase in cases before and after Christmas. We have seen a number of private companies set up testing sites at various locations throughout the country, with further sites due to open within weeks. While this expansion of testing is welcome, the tracing system needs to be beefed up to ensure it can cope with additional demand over the festive season and into the key month of January.

January worries me, as I think it worries everyone in the House. We had a worrying but avoidable situation unravel in October, when thousands of close contacts of positive Covid cases went uncontacted and the contact tracing system became overwhelmed because it was not properly resourced and planned. There can be no excuse if our contact tracing system becomes overwhelmed again. We have been here before and we should know what level of demand the tracing system can take and what needs to be done to make it fit for purpose. The Taoiseach and his colleagues in government need to ensure the necessary staff are recruited and ready for the festive period and that, if necessary, the Defence Forces are placed on notice that their skills and services may be called upon.

Private testing companies do not carry out contact tracing and our tracing system must be able to cope with the additional demand. There are thousands of competent people who can be brought in to carry out contact tracing if necessary, such as retired public servants, retired health professionals, people who have been made unemployed as a result of the pandemic and people who could be seconded from various organisations. The Labour Party is calling for assurances that everything that can be done is being done regarding support for our contact tracing system.

A true national effort is required to avoid future level 5 escalation. We need to hear that the Government is prepared to go into areas affected in the early stages, identify the index cases, aggressively test, trace and isolate and vigorously hunt down the virus to limit its spread. This is the type of policy approach that has been sadly lacking to date.

The news that we now have three vaccines which are testing well is giving us all a lift and it is a lift we all need at present. We need to know about the planned roll-out of the Covid vaccine in detail and the discussions with the European Commission on the contract to purchase 300 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, when it will be available and how much of it will come to Ireland. There needs to be co-ordination across society and an indicative plan for healthcare. I hope we will be able to administer it a whole lot better than we are at giving out the flu vaccine because we need to dramatically improve our approach before we roll out the Covid vaccine.

As a Dáil, we need to stand up to ill-informed anti-vaccine discourse more generally and strongly. Vaccine hesitancy is one thing but in the past decade there has been a small but vocal minority decrying all vaccines. It is dangerous. That is dangerous talk. This vaccine has the potential to be a game changer and bring back some normality to our lives. We should let the science speak clearly. The Labour Party calls for a strong public information campaign on a vaccine when it is introduced on the Irish market to debunk any misinformation.

This year has been an extremely difficult year for so many but let us all hope that with the Government response and a real sense of national unity and solidarity, as the Taoiseach stated earlier, and the personal responsibility we all need to show, particularly over the coming weeks, we will see better days ahead in 2021.

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