Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully acknowledge the challenges for people getting married. The Covid restrictions have been very severe on wedding couples. The numbers are very low. This stemmed from public health advice at the outset of the pandemic that weddings initially had been a significant factor in the spread of the disease. That said, we are now progressively reopening society. We are making progress against the virus. We are suppressing the numbers and keeping the incidence at a certain level. The vaccination program is working and is having a great impact on reducing severe illness, deaths, hospitalisations and the numbers being treated in ICUs. In that context, towards the end of this month we will see what more we can do for the months of June and July, as I have been saying consistently since we began lifting restrictions.

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