David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At any time, being the Minister for Health is a tough job. We all know that. Being landed with a Covid-19 global pandemic on top of that is not easy, to say the least. Being asked to look after a vaccine roll-out of an unprecedented scale was challenging. Having had to take charge of a quarantine regime was rather unsettling and demanding, to say the least. Topping it all, the recent hacking experienced by the HSE and Department was the icing on the cake. For dealing with all those issues, as the Minister has done, I take my hat off to him and say, "Well done." I mentioned to him privately in the past that he should look after himself. The amount of work he is dealing with and the stress and strain are enormous. I pay tribute to him on the work he has done, in addition to his team in the Department and the HSE.

This brings me to the issue of healthcare workers. We have all been speaking on and off about the stress they have been under. I spoke to some of them, particularly young doctors. They were absolutely shattered and exhausted when the pandemic was at its height. They were dealing with people who were dying or were on the verge of dying and they were trying to keep people alive. They were working all day in personal protective equipment on very long shifts. That is extremely challenging. We all have to appreciate the work they did. We must also appreciate the work of the Garda in respect of meeting people on the streets and roads and dealing with people in a civilised, disciplined and co-operative way to try to curtail the spread of the virus. We must also recognise the impact of the pandemic on children and young people. I heard an individual saying on television that young people in their teens and early 20s are programmed to socialise but they could not do so at all. Neither could older people. It has been a really tough time.

Today we are dealing with four legislative measures, namely, Part 3 of the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act) 2020, Part 5 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act, the Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020, and the Health (Amendment) Act 2020. All were enacted as temporary measures and were time limited, and rightly so. In the explanatory memorandum that the Minister has kindly circulated among us, there is a sentence that is slightly concerning. It comes after the setting out of the context and references to the trajectory and spread of the disease, variants and so on. It states: "It is in this context that the emergency provisions in the four named Acts, aimed at preventing and minimising the spread of Covid-19, will still be required in the near future and should therefore be continued in force." We all hope to God the provisions will not be required in the near future. I suggest that if the wording "may still be required" were used, it would be better.

Many colleagues on all sides have said this is extraordinary legislation that gives the Government extraordinary powers. I was taken very much by Deputy Bruton's comments in this regard. November 2021 is a long way off so I wonder why that month was picked. The provision stipulating a period three months after that brings us to some date in January or February. It is after the Christmas period so that may be the reason. I suggest to the Minister that he consider an extension until September so he could have an Oireachtas committee examine the provision before the Dáil returns in the autumn.

We can then have another debate on it at that stage and see where we are going.

We are all getting emails from constituents and citizens who are concerned about the powers the State has. These include the power to require people to remain in their homes, which is an extraordinary power, the power to prevent various events, including private events, and the power of arrest. Many of these were necessary. It is strange because before these powers were in place, we had regulations and guidelines. They were followed by the people at the start because people were concerned, afraid and wanted to comply. They did not want the disease to spread. There was great fear at the start when the pandemic broke out. There was footage on screens of patients in Italy and other parts of the world being treated in emergency rooms that were overflowing.

I suggest the Minister consider extending this legislation to September and not November. He might tell us in his summing up why November was chosen. As a previous speaker said, we may not and hopefully will not need the full complement of powers. There might be need for further amendment in that regard.

I pay tribute to the officials who drafted the legislation passed in 2020, including those in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the Office of the Attorney General. I know from my time there that it took immense work to put together those four Acts without making serious mistakes. There must have been a great deal of midnight oil burned. However, the measures were supposed to be temporary. I notice today that the HSE has reported a collapse in the number of deaths. Thankfully, we are at that point, although we should still bear in mind the 4,841 people who have died of Covid-19.

There are some who believe that all this is some kind of global hoax, a power grab by the World Health Organization and others to subjugate the world. Some believe that Bill Gates is involved somehow or another. We have all seen those conspiracy theories. Notwithstanding that, there are people who are very concerned about the powers the Minister has. They are concerned about what is, as they see it, the curtailment of various freedoms that we should and otherwise would have in a democracy and that we all want people to have. We need to explain further why we need these powers extended. We also need to have more flexibility with the application of some of them.

I have said in the past that we need a one-stop-shop to find out about exemptions. I know of doctors who wanted to come from abroad to work here as locums. They were expected to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks at their own expense. Maybe the Minister or his officials might take that on board to see if anything can be done in that regard. That might not be required. The issue of hotel quarantine was already discussed in the previous debate.

I am concerned about the aviation industry. If we lose it, it could be a long time before we get it back. I would like some clarity from the Minister with regard to travel from the United States and Canada in particular. Can people travel to Ireland from the US and Canada? What is required? Will they need a certificate? What certificates are recognised, if any? What kind of quarantine would be required if they come here? Will they have to quarantine for five days in a home or hotel? We need to start looking at trying to open up international travel again as soon as possible.

There are four Acts involved here. They all sound a little similar but they are all somewhat different. The first relates to the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act. We are talking about extending the mental health provisions in that Act. There are also provisions in Part 2 to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. This has not been mentioned. The Minister might comment on these when he speaks later. Section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act is also being extended. This Act gives gardaí the power to enter and inspect premises. Section 4 gives gardaí powers to shut down premises. We have heard reports of shebeens operating throughout the country during this period. Gardaí have done the best they can.

I salute vintners and publicans as they have complied with the legislation and regulations in the main. Not even a handful have failed to comply and they are to be commended. We need to support them as best we can as they open up. We need to look at small businesses as well because there will be unknown unknowns, to use that expression. Some business owners will open up and find that their business has vanished. This morning someone used the phrase "zombie businesses". We need to look at that as well as businesses start opening up. That discussion is perhaps for another time.

It is good to see that vaccines are being rolled out and working. That is most important. We are all looking for a vaccine benefit and we will get more and more freedoms because of the vaccines. I will finish with that.

I thank the Minister for the work he and his team are doing. It has been very challenging on everyone but I hope we can move forward with a certain amount of confidence in the future, get our economy open again and get back to normal or as near as we can get to it.

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