Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

This is really tough on people and there is a high degree of fear. That is why people are looking not to punish others but to be protected. It is for this reason that the focus is on issues such as international travel in the context of the variants. There is a public understanding of the risks involved. That is why quarantine is being sought, not as a punishment. It is unacceptable that people are going on holidays and, on a television programme last night, we saw students arriving into the country. I cannot quite comprehend why families would want their children to be travelling here when, apart from anything else, there is a very dominant strain of the virus in play.

This did not arrive on a south-easterly. It arrived on a flight or on a boat. That will be the means by which the other variants arrive as well. That is why this is so important. What if quarantine is introduced in the UK, for example? Will we follow on then? Will that be where the all-Ireland approach will be adopted? Has the Taoiseach talked to his UK counterparts about that recently?

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