Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach should be here today instead of at a press conference, given the decisions being made and the impact on our country. The Cabinet decision announced earlier on reopening businesses is absolutely bananas. It is discriminatory and it is unenforceable. It is shocking stuff. It is amateur hour. When did Government discrimination become the norm in Ireland? I would like the Minister to answer that.

The Government is saying to young people today that we are all in this together except when it gets to a stage where those of us who have been vaccinated want to get out and enjoy ourselves this summer. That is what we are really saying and that, by the way, we also want younger people to continue working to serve us in bars, restaurants, pubs and everywhere else because we need them to do so even though they are not vaccinated, and that public health covers this. It is shocking stuff.

The Government is saying I can get a meal down the street in a restaurant or go for a pint but my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, cannot do it. I would have to leave him outside the door. That is discrimination and it is wrong. In Ireland we do not practice discrimination and the Government should certainly not push it. That is effectively what it is doing. The Government will learn a big political lesson over the coming days and weeks. I will rephrase that: it will be over the coming seconds, minutes and hours regarding this decision. It will have to be rescinded because it is not practical, it is unenforceable and it is discriminatory.

The Government's plans will break social cohesion and divide the people of this country, including communities, families, employees and employers. It will put them into positions we never wanted. The Government will really have to look at this again. It is saying to young people it would be illegal for them to go down the road for a pint if they are not vaccinated and they cannot go for a meal in a restaurant. However, it is not illegal because of European law to go to Northern Ireland or get a flight to Spain and have as many meals or drinks as they want. Again, it is not practical but most of all, it is discriminatory.

The Government will have to look at this again immediately. Another Cabinet meeting should be called and it should consider another proposal. What is being proposed now is the following. The Government is saying to young people that we will go out and enjoy ourselves if we are vaccinated but we will not allow them to. We are essentially saying to the young people of Ireland that their summer will consist of sitting at home and watching "Love Island" because that is what we think of them.

We are no longer in this together.

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