Dáil debates

Wednesday, 26 May 2021

Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage

 

3:57 pm

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are at the stage where our society and economy are beginning to reopen. Enormous credit is due to the people of Ireland for their efforts in that regard. It is important to acknowledge the enormous work the staff of our health services and the HSE have done over the past 14 or 15 months. I also acknowledge the huge work that is going on in the health service at this time. Family members and I have had to engage with the HSE in the days since the cyberattack. It is remarkable how many services are continuing even as so many are hugely affected. It is a major cause for worry but there is great work being done and enormous dedication shown to ensure as many services as possible can continue. That effort has been quite impressive in my experience. Credit is due to our healthcare workers for that as well as for their part in getting us to a situation where restrictions are unwinding.

As we reopen society, there is a danger that some of the protections and scaffolding that have been created for certain sectors and workers may be cast aside. It is vitally important that there be no cliff edge in terms of the withdrawal of supports. There are many industries that will take time to recover. Hospitality will reopen but the question is whether, after the first couple of weeks, it will consistently get back to the level it was at in 2019. We do not know the answer. The industries that rely on the hospitality sector, including taxis and food supply businesses, may also take time to recover. Other industries, such as aviation, will take even longer. I have raised my concerns in that regard with the Minister for Transport. Along with measures such as the digital green certificate and a continued provision of increased funding for our airports for the next three or four years, it is vital that subsidies such as the EWSS are continued for workers who return to work on limited hours and limited contracts. They need to be supported and I am very disappointed that Aer Lingus has not decided to use the EWSS to keep workers employed over the course of the two months for which they are being temporarily laid off in Cork. That is poor and I prevail on the Department and the Government to put pressure on the company and provide whatever supports are necessary to help keep those workers in employment.

There are tens of thousands of people working in the hospitality sector, in pubs and restaurants, and many of them have suffered and put up with a great deal during this crisis. They did so knowing they were assisting the response to the public health emergency. However, there is a lot of frustration with the guidelines. There seems to be an incoherence in regard to the guidance for hotels and restaurants. As the previous speaker noted, the 105-minute rule arguably encourages people to go to a number of different venues. That is not desirable and the rule should be reconsidered.

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