David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Bill that we are proposing does not oppose regulations. We all accept that in a public health emergency, there will be a need for regulations to make sure that public health restrictions and interventions are put in place and that there are penal provisions, enforcement and punitive measures to ensure compliance with, and enforcement of, those restrictions and public health measures.

The difficulty and challenge that the Opposition has had over recent months, as I have said directly to the Minister for Health and Taoiseach when we have debated these issues, is that, while the Opposition has been largely supportive of measures brought forward by Government because we all accept that everything has to be done to keep people safe, there is a lack of accountability, scrutiny and transparency with regard to these regulations. The Minister for Health, who brings forward the regulations, accepted that they give sweeping powers to the State and to him. They allow for the putting in place of all of the public health restrictions and have an impact on individuals, families, workers and businesses, and people accept the reasons. When there is no proper scrutiny and no opportunity in the House to debate the regulations, never mind to vote for them, there is a democratic deficit and a lack of accountability, scrutiny and transparency.

Many of these measures are difficult and challenging for people, so we need to ensure there is maximum confidence that we are getting it right. There have been examples in the past of where some of the regulations were not properly thought out and created problems for the Government with instilling confidence that they were the right measures. It would have been better and the Government would have benefited from having more democratic scrutiny. The Bill calls for that and for these regulations for the public health emergency to be brought before the House for approval.

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