Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

On Sunday, the Taoiseach was quoted as saying he regretted the decision to reopen in December. It was the first time the Government came close to acknowledging its responsibility for the unnecessary and avoidable loss of more than 1,000 lives in January. Yesterday, however, the Tánaiste was talking about a revised plan for living with Covid-19. Mr. Tom Parlon from the CIF appeared on the radio this morning beating the lobbying drums again for a full reopening of construction and spinning a ludicrous line that it is safer to be on construction site is to be in a community. Interestingly, it was reported on the RTÉ website without any fact-check or anyone pointing out that this is complete nonsense. One thousand people died because of the Government's failed strategy and here we are; it is Groundhog Day again and the same process is going to happen with the Government giving into the pressure of the lobbying drums and reopening.

We cannot live with the virus. That is the lesson to be learned from the tragedy we are in. That is a strategy for rolling lockdowns and real damage in respect of our health service, unnecessary loss of life, mental health and the economy. That is the consequence of sticking with the rolling lockdown strategy.

The alternative is a zero Covid strategy with mandatory 14-day quarantine. It is making this lockdown effective by allowing trade unions and the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, to inspect workplaces to ensure working from home guidelines and essential rules are being followed and to fine employers that are not doing so. It is a strategy of electing health and safety workers' committees to ensure proper procedures are being followed and by ensuring we do not reopen until we have eliminated community transmission. It is a strategy of investing in find, test, trace, isolate and support to hunt down the virus and of supporting workers with the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, full eviction bans, full-pay childcare and sick leave.

There is huge support now for those measures. The proof of that is today's debate and in the Labour Party's national aggressive suppression strategy, NASS. The Labour Party is doing this because of the vast public support that exists for this sort of strategy. It is calling for this now although I note it called for reopening early in the summer. In October, it called on the Government not to move to level 5 restrictions but instead use the tax revenue gain from staying open to buy private hospitals, not thinking about the consequence in terms of extra debts when it welcomed the reopening in December.

It is a sign of the public mood on this and politicians being under pressure. Therefore, I say to the public to keep the pressure up. It is working; we can achieve zero Covid. We need Sinn Féin to get off the fence and we need the Government to commit to a zero Covid strategy.

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