Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Since last March, our response to Covid has been one of emergency thinking, with a heavy reliance on secondary legislation. We rushed legislation through last March in a very different environment. The Minister described that legislation as draconian and I agree with that description. In a million years I would not have expected to have to vote for that kind of legislation but the Covid pandemic has been extraordinary. It was a crisis and a time of great uncertainty. We did not understand the virus and there was no sign of a vaccine. Thankfully, things have changed quite a bit and the roll-out of vaccinations is very successful. I got my vaccine in Citywest some weeks ago and I can attest that, as others have said, it was very efficiently dealt with. We understand the virus much more now, although I am not sure we are getting the message about airborne transmission out very clearly. The situation is not static. It changes from time to time and so should our response.

Covid is still present and is still a significant risk but the issue is how we manage that risk. The more vulnerable people in our population have now been vaccinated so we need a much more nuanced approach to how we manage the risk going forward. It is disappointing to be presented with this legislation today because it seems this debate is an afterthought. Last week I woke up and turned on the radio to be told that the Government had decided to extend these measures to November, as if it did not matter that the Oireachtas has a view. The Government thinks that because it has the numbers it can just do this. That is the message that came across. There has been a feeling all this year that the Opposition only comes in to criticise and moan and groan but we do not feel we are being heard. We are here to represent the public just as the Minister is. The lack of briefings on these matters and being presented with legislation like this, where we will fall off a cliff edge if it is not passed before a certain date, show the weakness of the Government in its lack of forward thinking.

This legislation was extended to 9 June with the understanding that this date was the sunset clause and the safeguard. High levels of the virus are still circulating in the community and there are risks from variants. We have to collectively manage those risks but we also have to balance them against people's fundamental rights. The Opposition is being taken for granted. Emergency measures are meant to be temporary, according to international law. The extension of emergency powers is a substantial step and is not a decision for Cabinet to make but one for the Oireachtas to make in its totality.

There has been a change in the public mood over time as Covid has had a serious impact across society. Significant damage has been done to children as they have been out of school and there has been a double disadvantage for children with disabilities. There has been a loss of confidence for older people. One of the saddest things we heard last year was when older people said they felt they had to cocoon and had no contact with others. They said that life was not worth living. There has been a loss of confidence, a paralysis and an institutionalising and it will be very difficult for people to get their confidence back. On the one hand, we are being told that many things are being opened up. Much of that is very welcome and we accept it has to be done safely but, at the same time, the more that draconian measures are imposed, the less people will feel able to reconnect and pick up their lives where they left off.

With the successful vaccine campaign, we are at a point where we should be considering what we can do rather than what we cannot do, and the extension of these powers wholesale to November is the opposite of that message. During the pandemic, there was a huge amount of confusion about which measures were mandatory and which were advisory. The Government did not clarify those matters and it made people feel even more imposed on in the loss of their civil liberties. As it stands, NPHET does not have any members with human rights and equality expertise and it dissolved the sub-committee that did have human rights experts on it. The Government oversight committee that filters NPHET recommendations has no representation from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Whole sections of society are not being taken into consideration, with a very narrow focus to the advice being given.

It is essential that a human rights view of Covid enforcement powers be instigated as a matter of urgency. This has been called for since last year and the Government has yet to engage with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission on the matter. We understand the public health risks. Some of the restrictions may well be necessary but they must be subject to scrutiny. The absence of a review of emergency powers at regular intervals is a source of concern.

Regarding disaggregated data, the Garda Commissioner accepts it is required. It is important that we see those data because the impacts involved are very different, especially concerning fines. We do not know who has been fined and we do not know if it has been disproportionate. A fine is only punitive if it really hits people's pockets. For example, if it is a question of someone paying an extra €100 fine incurred because of a foreign holiday, that is not a draconian measure. On the other hand, if a pensioner goes three, four or five miles outside his or her zone during level 5 restrictions and consequently incurs a €100 fine, that will be pretty significant for that person. Therefore, we need to get that information regarding the fines and we must know how these powers are being applied. In the absence of doing that, it is unfair to ask the Oireachtas to just pass this legislation and present a carte blancheto the Government to put together statutory instruments or regulations and not have those reviews. We must have those reviews, therefore, and the Social Democrats will be introducing amendments to this Bill. I hope they will be received in such a way that the Minister will at least be open to giving them consideration.

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