Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I will do my best to get to the points fast.

Today, we see the Government guillotining this Bill. The act of guillotining a Bill is in itself a phenomenally undemocratic act. It cuts out the Opposition's ability to push and challenge the Government to make sure that the laws it is introducing are actually correct. It is a guarantee that the law will not be tested properly before it is implemented. Accordingly, it is very likely the law will be significantly poorer as a result.

This guillotining is being done by one of the most undemocratic Governments that I have seen in the history of the State. On most occasions throughout the past 15 months, the Government has bypassed the Opposition and Oireachtas. It has treated Opposition Members simply like a decoration. It is an incredible thing that has happened over the past while.

All of this is facilitated by legislation which, in itself, is grossly undemocratic. It radically gives undemocratic, and at times unconstitutional, powers to the Government. If one has a Government unchecked, naturally it will make mistakes and push its power to the limit. Over the past several months, we have seen incredible things happen. There was a Donegal helpline to encourage people to tell on each other. We had pregnant mothers having to watch their partners in hospital car parks because they were not allowed in with them. We had gardaí going into churches. We had Protestant pastors arrested and families sent away from funerals by priests from the door of a church with family members lying in coffins inside. When students gathered in Galway, the Fianna Fáil Senator in the area stated the Army needed to be brought in.

The Government has closed down practically every public venue that exists in the country. It then tells young people it will be an outside summer. When young people gathered in several streets recently, the political establishment hammered down on them at an unmerciful rate. It is an incredible situation. The Government, by its actions, created the situation in South William Street last week. If people had been allowed gather in outdoor settings in pubs and restaurants, then this would not have happened. The Government is now going a step further on this occasion. There are photographs on social media of the bandstand in St. Stephen's Green being fenced off. I am hearing that in other parts of the country, the Government is also fencing off the public realm from young people. Only 0.1% of the transmission of this illness happens outside, yet now the Government is actively fencing off the outside from people.

These restrictions do not delete human activity but simply displace it. If we reduce the spaces in which human activity can exist, then people will be corralled in bigger numbers. The whole action is self-defeating in the long run. The Taoiseach is reported as saying the July reopening might be reviewed. He said if people do not follow the rules, he is going to catch them. This is an unbelievable response from the Taoiseach, basically saying that if they are not good children, he will punish them with further restrictions in the future.

One issue which has frustrated me over the last while is that there is a virulent variant which I call the Dáil variant. It is a serious and deadly threat to common sense. All the things that we have seen in the past while have shown that common sense has been heavily attacked by this particular variant. The sad point is that the Opposition is not immune to this variant. In fact, most of the Opposition want to go further than the Government, even up to a number of weeks ago. Even Sinn Féin was sitting on the fence when it abstained in the Seanad on this Bill and flip-flopped on a "No" vote here today. Opposition needs to hold the Government to account. The Government will not be able to do its job properly unless it is pushed to the limit by the Opposition. The Opposition has not done its job in this State over the past while.

We are in a situation today where there are 93 people with Covid in hospitals. All of these people could fit into Navan hospital with 20 beds left over. Thankfully, the number is extremely low. It amazes me how insular this country still is. We are so inward looking. I talk to people internationally and they still cannot believe the pubs and restaurants are closed in this country. Denmark and Finland had similar levels of Covid morbidity and mortality to this country. Denmark opened its pubs and restaurants in mid-April while Finland opened up on 12 May. However, the Government is not considering this for a number of months. We have the illogical situation that hotels can open for indoor dining and drinking from today. That, however, is not going to happen for a number of weeks in the rest of the hospitality industry.

Aontú is calling for the Government to open up all hospitality under the same science and the same regulations. The Tánaiste was on the radio earlier this week saying it is not a scientific reason that they are not opening up together. He said it was a practical reason. It is an absolutely incredible situation. The Government needs to get practical. If the Government needs particular restrictions in the future, it can come knocking on the door of the elected representatives of the people of Ireland to ask us for those. If we consider it logical at that point in time, due to the evidence on hand, that is when the decision will be made.

Writing the Government a blank cheque in this situation is absolutely illogical. It has already spent those given to it in a manner which is completely over the top, unfair and undemocratic. I urge all Opposition Members not just to vote against the Government amendment but to vote against any extension of these restrictions. I heard Opposition leaders today say that the time has passed for these restrictions. Their amendments, however, seek to continue those restrictions for another six weeks potentially. They spoke about not giving the Government a blank cheque for another six months but are happy to write one until the end of July or September or whatever arbitrary date has been chosen. The truth of the matter is we need to make sure that we protect the most vulnerable, that we roll out vaccines to those who need them and that we make sure we socially distance and protect people. We need, however, to start to live again.

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