Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As antigen testing was raised, the only commentary I will make is that it has been a tool that we have missed in the opening up of society but it may have a particular fit for aviation. We all know NPHET's view on it at this stage, and Dr. Tony Holohan stated that there is an insufficient amount of evidence on antigen testing, particularly around travel and aviation. There has been a failure and this needs to be rectified quickly, even if it is very late from the point of view of putting a proper pilot testing scenario in place to provide the evidence, so that it can be audited properly and, if as many of us believe, antigen testing is proved to be useful for aviation, that it is put in place. That needs to be done as quickly as possible as we are way behind the curve on it.

We welcome the move that is to be made on the digital Covid-19 certificate. It is Europe operating at its best when one has an element of working together and one has a sensible solution that will be operated throughout the European Union. We need to ensure that there are no hiccups from our end and that all of the technicalities and the logistics are put in place as soon as possible. Communication with all stakeholders is necessary. In regard to 19 July, we need to accept that the aviation sector has been significantly hammered and it does not need anything to happen beyond what has happened with Covid-19. That which is within our control needs to be sorted out. We need to ensure we deliver for this sector.

There has been much talk about certain difficulties around the recovery and resilience funding. We all welcome the €1 billion funding from the Brexit adjustment reserve fund but we have to ensure that we put these funds where they are necessary from the point of view of economic recovery. A significant amount of work still needs to be done on that.

I have mentioned Brexit. We received great solidarity from across Europe and we have heard the recent statements from Boris Johnson and David Frost. We have also heard these statements from certain elements of unionism as it goes through the particular difficulties it has at this point in time. On some level, the British Government is probably providing succour, in that people believe there is a major political move that can be made on the Irish protocol. This protocol is like the Good Friday Agreement which is there to stay. Solutions will be found to whatever difficulties there are. We need to ensure we maintain that element of solidarity and that Britain is left in no doubt that solutions will be found but that the Irish protocol is there to stay. This, to me, is continuity of the failure of British rule in Ireland and the absolute failure of partition. Once again we will have to have a proper and real conversation on what a united Ireland will look like and which allow everybody to be part of the conversation. Then we can have a plan. Eventually, we will have a referendum. Everybody in the wider world believes it is going to happen so we need to have a bit of reality check. In this House, I recognise there have been moves by certain political elements, which are very welcome. We need to have this conversation, to have the plan and to deliver, following 100 years of absolute failure.

We really need to look at a TRIPS waiver, even if it is temporary, to ensure the steadiest and biggest supply of vaccines is delivered across the world. This State, and across this island, we are in a race of vaccines versus the Delta variant. We need to ensure we reduce the number of variants across the world and that we bring every other state and nation to the place we are in now because none of us are safe until all of us are safe.

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