Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I will not be supporting the extension of these powers. The Minister will say he expected that anyway. The biggest reason is because hundreds of my constituents have contacted me by email and in writing. I said last week I pity my postman because my post box is full every week back in Lowertown, Schull. They have also been ringing the office. I have not met anyone yet who has asked me to support this legislation. That is an incredible situation. They have outlined many reasons as to why they do not want these powers to be extended.

They have given and done their best. There is always a rogue person but the majority of people have worked hard to work within the rules and safe guidelines. People need to be praised and given an opportunity to reap some reward for that careful behaviour. They are willing to do that.

I thank Máirín McGrath and Brian Ó Domhnaill who put together our amendments but we will not get an opportunity to discuss them. We have given ourselves very little time here for discussion of the matter. These amendments are genuine, progressive and honest. We should have got enough time to debate them but we seem to be rushing through this serious legislation.

I am aware of the seriousness of the pandemic and what it has done. Our energies now need to be used on progressing a safe reopening.

We do not want to be in a situation where, at weekends, we push young people into large gatherings in small areas instead of considering opening things up. People need to get out to enjoy themselves in a safe manner. The owners of public houses and restaurants are very annoyed and frustrated as they do not know whether their businesses will survive. They have mortgages and so on. I worry about many of these businesses given the regulations that have been put to them, even before they reopen, requiring them to keep a distance of 1 m between customers who can only stay for a certain time. It is impossible to staff that type of a system. Businesses would need to double their staff. Genuine customers will be kept more than 1 m apart and could be told to leave the premises where they may be eating or having a drink. That is very unfair and I will not support it.

It will also be difficult for An Garda Síochána to administer these extended powers if they are used again. The Garda in west Cork worked hard during the pandemic. Gardaí were always present in Ballinascarthy, Drimoleague and Innishannon. They were very fair in most cases and it was difficult for them to figure out what was and was not genuine. People who were travelling were held up and had to answer questions, which many felt was unfair. In one rare case, in Ballinascarthy, a person buying farm machinery ended up being fined, which was totally wrong. People interpret the law differently. Farming was meant to be a genuine, allowable activity.

I saw so much hardship with funerals and weddings. Many people are still pinning their hopes on being allowed to have more than 50 people at a wedding held in an open setting. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event and they want to have a little enjoyment and at least have all their family attend, even if they cannot invite neighbours and friends.

Funerals have been hugely stressful for everybody. People were streaming on to roadways to show respect because Irish people have always been great at showing respect for their neighbours at funerals. It is a sad state of affairs when people, including family members, cannot attend funerals or get into a church when it is pouring rain outside.

These measures have left a great deal of hurt, which will not go away or be forgotten for a long time. Some people love to go to Mass. Plenty of churches in west Cork can hold 500 people but their doors are shut. People are not allowed to attend a prayer service. Priests and pastors were arrested because they wanted to serve their people, as they have always done. We have not seen scenes like this since we were under British rule many decades ago. It is not right that people were literally not allowed to pray. This was a hurtful time for many and made them feel very lonely and isolated. It caused an increase in mental health problems among the 99% of people who wanted to attend church to socialise in a nice and careful way.

The Government should be concentrating its efforts on addressing standards in hospitals, community hospitals and nursing homes. Unfortunately, there were many cases where Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, standards were not met for people. In Clonakilty Community Hospital staff could not have done more but the bottom line is the hospital was not up to standard, as various reports have repeatedly stated. Clonakilty has a large hinterland area. I pay tribute to the staff of the hospital and extend my deepest condolences to those who lost family members during the pandemic in that type of a setting. That was so unfair and could have been avoided. We seem to be concentrating our efforts on extending powers rather than focusing on ensuring the rule or guideline that we achieve an 80% single-bed occupancy rate is observed. It is not being met in some of the community hospitals under the control of the HSE. That is where we should be concentrating our efforts. It is the kind of conversation we should be having today, rather than giving the Minister a blank cheque to impose further restrictions.

I am very disappointed that we cannot discuss the amendments. Other Members want to contribute. I will not support this Bill and the Rural Independent Group will press for a vote. There are many Government backbenchers here. I listening to them every day on the radio and I am somewhat annoyed with the media because these Deputies are never questioned. They come in here today to vote for this Bill but they are out there on the radio saying they are against it. That is incredible. A person who votes for something supports it. We need a system where they can understand that because they do not seem to understand it. They go on radio and television condemning these measures and then come in here and vote for them. It is a strange way to be and it seems to be the case with every other issue as well. We are at a new juncture in Irish politics where politicians say one thing on their local radio station or in a local newspaper and then come in here and do another thing. I cannot understand for the life of me what is going on.

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