Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Tá sé soiléir gur chearrbhachas atá sa Bhille seo. Tar éis na híobairtí go léir a rinne muintir na tíre seo, is náire é. Ní cheart dúinn díriú ar leas na ngnóthaí agus athoscailt a dhéanamh roimh go leor daoine le vacsaín iomlán faighte acu. This Bill is a gamble and in particular, we are gambling with the health of young workers. It is only those who are vaccinated who will be able to eat in restaurants and pubs but the young people who serve them and who are unvaccinated will have to wait on them hand and foot in a 21st-century version of "Upstairs, Downstairs".

Thankfully we will not see the same level of hospitalisation and death but we do not know about or seem to be taking into account the possible effects of long Covid, which could impact on 20% of those who have had the disease and who are not vaccinated. We should not squander the gains that have been made by the population of this country. There is another reason why the Government should keep up the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP. Instead of forcing young people back into jobs that are dangerous to them, it could keep paying them the PUP. Forcing this through without pre-legislative scrutiny is totally irresponsible and it would be irresponsible for us in Opposition to support it without that scrutiny. There are so many unanswered questions that elected representatives cannot answer. How do we expect the vintners, publicans and restaurants to be able to answer them?

As the Minister knows, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, has serious concerns about the right to privacy, data protection and the question of discrimination among our population. It has called this mandatory vaccination by the back door and we are all opposed to mandatory vaccination, just as the WHO is. We need to bring people along with us and convince them that it is the right thing to do but by discriminating against a cohort of the population in this way, we are risking mandatory vaccination by the back door and creating a divisive two-tier society. This is a huge ethical issue.

Another issue we should look at is that we have been encouraging people to stay outdoors, including picnicking and playing outdoors, and yet our public domain is a disgrace. We are increasing the property tax, which is used to cover local authority funding but we do not have proper bins, benches or outdoor toilets. We will force people to go indoors unless we create those shelters and facilities that will help to keep them outdoors. As for us having this debate and passing this Bill in the interests of public health; I doubt it. We are doing it in the interests of business. We need to support people, give more vaccinations, lift the intellectual property rights from the vaccines and support the people's vaccine.

I am particularly worried about schools and the inadequate provision of monitors and ventilators. Teachers who are over 35 have not yet been vaccinated and many vulnerable teachers have been forced back into schools, where they have either contracted Covid or been compromised because of underlying health conditions. I also have every sympathy with GPs and the manner in which this issue has been handled. It is shameful. No consultation was done with the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO. Doctors' clinics, which are already overwhelmed with the fallout from the lockdown, have been taking it in the neck.

If the Government pushes this through and divides a society that hung together for so long, it will be a shame on this Government. People are being left in limbo and confusion and as we close up shop for the summer, we are expecting them to swallow this. From listening to the debate, it is not just the Opposition Deputies who have concerns but an awful lot of Government Deputies are also concerned about this Bill. I have listened to several of them. I do not tell other parties what to do but the right thing to do would be for the Government parties to lift the whip on this vote tonight and allow for a free vote. We are hearing a lot of unease across the House about this Bill and it is no wonder why, when it is being thrown at us in this manner and has basically been led and pushed forward by big business rather than by the interests of public health.

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