Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the legislation and acknowledge the urgency with which it is being brought forward. We did not object to the waiving of pre-legislative scrutiny for that reason but I agree with Deputy Howlin on the tacking on of other matters. It is not the right way to proceed and it is disingenuous to presume we would even know this would happen.

The urgency needed to pass this Bill is indicative of the absolute lack of preparation for an outdoor summer. It should not have taken businesses and gardaí raising the matter for the problem to become obvious. The licences are granted based on the floor space of a premises and in some places around the country, there are by-laws. I was involved in the making of by-laws in one of the local authorities of which I was a member for some years. Making such by-laws is about trying to achieve a particular outcome in public parks, etc. I do not understand why there would have been confusion about that as such by-laws are not in operation everywhere. I am not sure why it was not considered that the issue is with liquor or licensing laws when such a large investment was being made from the public purse, welcome as that was.

There was confusion among those who were trying to manage the open spaces and there was also understandable confusion caused for gardaí as to what discretion could be used. It can cause all sorts of problems when the law is not clear and gardaí are expected to enforce the law. This legislation has been introduced to cover a particular period, which is understandable, but until everybody is vaccinated, nobody is safe. We know variants can appear and I suspect this is something that could become an established pattern. We should consider this for the foreseeable future at least, which may stretch to the next few years.

As long as outdoor seating is done safely, it does not obstruct footpaths but consideration must be given to people with disabilities and those pushing prams. I see no reason the improvements in our cities and towns might not have some degree of permanence about them. I have gone to places such as Germany in the winter where there is much dining al fresco despite the fact that the climate is not particularly warm then. We should think this out a little bit.

Section 2(3) appears to ban the sale of takeaway alcohol in outdoor seating areas. It states, "in respect of a licensed premises, the sale or supply of intoxicating liquor in an outdoor seating area shall not be lawful where the intoxicating liquor is sold or supplied for consumption off the premises or outdoor seating area." What is the thinking behind this? Would people be able to buy drink around the corner in a supermarket, for example? Some of the pubs, for example, have been providing takeaway drinks for months without issue. Do people now have to go inside or is that banned as well?

There was advice from NPHET yesterday on indoor drinking. The Government has made a very big mistake here. What is proposed is impossible on a practical level. I will not even call it a plan because the Government does not really have a plan. This is creating an unacceptable division and the plan is unethical. I wonder if it is lawful. That kind of division in society is completely unwarranted. We were all in this together 15 months ago and now, a considerable period down this road and after learning much, we are dividing society in a very dramatic way. The Taoiseach had previously ruled out the use of domestic vaccine passports on civil liberty grounds but the idea is now meant to be introduced. How prescriptive was the advice from NPHET? I have been reluctant to criticise NPHET because it has given much good and well-thought-out advice. This seems to be so prescriptive, however, that it strays into the political sphere in a very dramatic way. It is very problematic.

On the proposed addition of a number of judges to the High Court, I accept there is likely to be a backlog of cases, which is not desirable. Is it likely this number will be required into the future? Do we know that? The Minister indicated in her speech that it could be noted the work of the independent judicial planning working group is under way and the group is considering the number and type of judges that would ensure the efficient administration of justice over the next five years. Is this likely to be a temporary addition? These are permanent posts but it would have been very useful to have had a discussion in advance of legislation and an outline of what will happen. It is not the way this should be done.

If there is a possibility of bringing forward the administration of vaccines, it should be done. The situation with vaccines throughout the country is quite. For example, a person aged 40 in my area is unlikely to have been vaccinated yet but people in their late 30s who live in other parts of the country have been vaccinated. There is much frustration about that and people do not know when they will be called. It may well be that there are insufficient vaccination centres or perhaps times must be extended to take account of discrepancies.

I spoke to a young woman with cystic fibrosis earlier today and she was really unhappy that the advice is not to mix the vaccines. Mixing vaccines would give her the best possible outcome. Her first dose was of the AstraZeneca vaccine and there was a good report last week, which was not really publicised in this jurisdiction, on the mixing of vaccines. We must find out what will happen in that regard.

It may be that we are exposing people who are more vulnerable to a double dose of a vaccine that is perhaps less valuable, even if it is only marginally less valuable. All the vaccines are very good and I am not trying to do it down but it seriously needs to be looked at urgently.

The decision yesterday also needs to be revisited and looked at urgently. There is a meeting today with some of the industry representatives, but this is not just an industry issue. This is a societal issue. We are in this together and we should come out of it together. We should not create that kind of discrimination. It is very difficult to even figure out how it would work. Families do not come in one size, they are mixed in ages. Many people will go on staycations here. The people in the caravan parks will be treated differently to those who can afford a hotel. The complications of this are widespread but the lack of social solidarity is a significant issue and the Government needs to go back urgently to look at this again. This is not acceptable on any level.

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