Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but it is quarantining of EU nationals and it is the second country to require EU nationals to quarantine. We were the first, in respect of Austrian nationals.

The proposal in Ireland is to extend the quarantining measure to the nationals of a number of other countries. I wonder where that sits in respect of free movement. Most EU countries, if not all at this stage, are only allowing essential travel. There is no need for the Minister of State to tell me that; I understand that. However, there is a hope and expectation that this will ease this summer, which is part of the reason - not the only reason - this digital pass has been proposed. I do not know where the proposal to extend quarantining to many of the EU member states sits with the essential right to freedom of movement. I am not just referring to the freedom of movement of people, but also of goods. How are we going to maintain agrifood exports? Europe is a huge and important market for us. How are we going to maintain that in terms of delivery if there is quarantining? In respect of live exports, we export cattle, calves in particular, live to Spain to an important if not huge extent and particularly to Italy. Have we thought about that?

Previous speakers, including Deputy O'Connor, spoke about when Europe is vaccinated. I read an article very recently in The Lancetby members of the French Covid-19 scientific council, which is the French equivalent of NPHET. I do not know if it holds as much sway over Government policy in France as NPHET does in Ireland. The article stated: "The fervently awaited end of this global health crisis might be continually postponed, as new variants emerge and immune evasion reduces vaccination effectiveness in the short and medium term." It concluded: "Using stop-start general confinement as the main response to the Covid-19 pandemic is no longer feasible." That is a hugely different approach to the approach we are taking at present. We are hoping that vaccination will be the magic bullet. It is fair to say that we are less concerned that this might prove elusive. How do we reconcile that difference in approach in France with the approach we are taking here in the longer term, while maintaining free movement? If there are vaccine-resistant variants evolving right through the EU, that means there will permanent quarantining here or we will have to deal with the reality.

It seems to me that in Ireland, we have not dealt with the reality of living with Covid for a long time. We seem to think that we are like New Zealand or Australia and that we can suppress it. We are not. We have a very different social structure and-----

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