Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We should acknowledge that yesterday we passed a sad figure - a threshold of 3,000 people who have died in the Republic from Covid-19 and 1,760 who have passed in Northern Ireland. Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of those who have been bereaved by this deadly and dangerous virus, which constantly evolves and is causing devastation to people's lives and to societies across the world.

I want to make it clear that there will be no half measures from me as Taoiseach or from Government in ensuring a prolonged suppression of this virus. We will do whatever it takes to keep the numbers down once we get them down. We and the Irish people are achieving that. Case numbers are falling steeply as we speak. The swift introduction of level 5 over Christmas and, critically, the adherence of the Irish people to those guidelines is resulting in a steep decline in numbers. That said, the key reality for front-line healthcare workers, who have been performing heroically on behalf of us all for a prolonged period, but particularly during this critical phase of Covid, in assisting all who get Covid and are hospitalised, is that we have to get the numbers of hospitalisations and the number of people in intensive care down. When we get them down, we can never allow them back up to the levels they are at now. That is clear, as far as I am concerned. That will mean prolonged suppression of the virus in this country. That will mean, for everybody in this House, that I do not want people coming to me again after 5 March with special pleading for this, that or the other sector. We simply have had too much of that.

I get that there are issues relating to education and I get the necessity to deal with and provide for special needs children. The Minister for Education is engaging with all the partners. We should allow space for the partners in education and the Minister to facilitate the return of children with special needs to our schools and to deal comprehensively and in a clear way with the situation facing our leaving certificate students. They have gone through a difficult period because they were in fifth year last year and suffered as a result of school closures. They have suffered this year again as a result of the pandemic, coming out of the Christmas period and the schools are closed. Provision will be made for them. The Minister is working with the partners and the national advisory committee on the exams, which has the voices of students, teachers, management and the State Examination Commission, which has a key role in this, and she will come back in a comprehensive way to present options for the leaving certificate students of this year.

However, in terms of the evolution of this, what we have now, which we did not, have last year is the vaccination roll-out. The evidence base for the vaccines is that they prevent mortality and illness. That will give us choices towards mid-year, when we will have significant numbers vaccinated. However, the strategy, as far as I am concerned, is very clear: it will be a prolonged suppression of the virus. The introduction of mandatory quarantine and the additional capacity that will be provided to the State to extend that if necessary is also there as an additional measure. However, the key measure is human behaviour. That is what stops the spread of the virus. Thankfully, the Irish people have responded very, very effectively to this latest phase and the numbers are dropping steeply.

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