Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome mandatory hotel quarantine. It should have been introduced several months ago. However late, it is a significant step forward. It will be one more gaping hole filled in our fight against the ever-evolving Covid crisis. I fully support the call from my colleague, Deputy Berry, for the Defence Forces to provide security at hotels selected for mandatory quarantine. They are highly trained, accountable, responsible and much better positioned to carry out such a task. The hiring of private security firms would be a misuse of money when Army personnel can carry out this task as part of their assigned work.

I also wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge the involvement of members of the Garda in the overseeing of quarantine. Once again, they are being asked to risk their health and that of their families through direct involvement with people who may be infected with Covid. In recent months, members of the Garda have expressed concerns about entering places where unlawful gatherings of people were taking place.

Now we are calling on them to address breaches of quarantine rules. We owe members of the Garda a great debt of gratitude for the role they play on our behalf. They must be vaccinated as a matter of priority. They are entitled to protection from Covid-19 in the line of duty.

Mandatory quarantine should be introduced in tandem with other actions. I have called in the past for the enhancement of testing and tracing. It is also vital to introduce widespread, rapid antigen testing, which has allowed numerous workplaces to remain Covid-free.

The greatest weapon we have in this war is the Covid vaccine, and it must be the primary focus of the Government. Mass vaccination will give people some semblance of normality and a sense of freedom and control in their lives. No single issue since the start of this pandemic has monopolised the minds of people like the Covid vaccine. People are devouring information. They want to know what is happening and to see the evidence that something is happening. They need reassurance that the Government not only recognises, but shares, their sense of urgency. The Government will ultimately be judged on the successful roll-out of the vaccine. If the people of the country deem the roll-out to be successful, the Government will be remembered as the one that brought the country through a pandemic. If the roll-out is considered to be slipshod or ineffective, it will not be forgiven.

People are looking enviously at Britain as it plans a full reopening of the country in June. Britain outsmarted the European Commission. The EU central purchasing strategy is flawed. The European Union's procurement of vaccines has been a shambles. The Commission was slow off the mark. It did not order on time and did not secure a sufficient supply. It is now playing catch-up and making excuses for its incompetence. The European Commission has let down the citizens of Europe. The lack of certainty about schedules and deliveries has impaired vaccinations in Ireland and across Europe. A shortage of vaccines has implications for the health of citizens. The slow roll-out has a massive impact on our ability to reopen society and get our economy moving again.

At the same time, people in Ireland are getting mixed messages about how soon different categories of the population will be called for vaccination. We must have clarity and certainty. People's stress and anxiety are mounting. Family carers appear to have been ignored again in yesterday's revised primary list. The Government must allay fears and give people hope. Competition is growing among vaccine manufacturers and supplies will become available and plentiful. The focus should now switch to ensuring that the logistics are in place for when the vaccine arrives. The messaging must be strong, clear and accurate and leave no room for dispute. Information given to the public must be beyond contradiction.

Vaccination centres must be prepared and functional in advance. When the vaccines arrive, it should be just a matter of opening the door and being ready to start. Rosters for vaccinators should also be drawn up well in advance of the arrival of the vaccines. There is no wisdom in waiting until shipments have arrived to establish when vaccinators can be available. We must know that they are engaged and ready to start. People want to get vaccinated. They want their lives back. At this point in the traumatic and destructive Covid journey, people will do whatever it takes to bring the end nearer.

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