Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

There were 783 new cases today. That is the highest daily case number since February. The seven-day average case number has doubled in the course of the past month. In the Netherlands, case numbers have gone up by 500% in the course of one week after reopening hospitality. Look at the graphs of what has been happening in Britain, and then in a delayed fashion in the rest of Europe, when indoor hospitality is reopened.

The case numbers in the context of the Delta variant shoot through the roof. What follows inevitably after that, thankfully at a lower and slower rate than previously due to vaccinations, is hospitalisation. In Britain, hospitalisation is now up by 54% according to the Chief Medical Officer at a press event today. Do not believe it when people say we can open up and there will be no consequences in terms of lost lives because that is not true. As night follows day, hospitalisation will increase as a consequence. Deaths and long Covid, in particular for young people, will be the lasting impact.

At the NPHET press event today, Professor Philip Nolan said that if we continue at the current rates and nothing else changes, our case count will double every 15 to 29 days. It will go from 700 to 1,400 to 2,800. We can see the kinds of numbers we will be facing in a month or a month and a half. He said that will be the case if nothing else changes and yet here we are, on the second last day of the Dáil term, with rushed legislation introducing discrimination without any pre-legislative scrutiny whatsoever. There are major implications for the health surveillance of people. The legislation will create unnecessary extra division to society to facilitate the reopening of indoor hospitality. Things are not going to stay as they are, in a situation in which cases double every 15 to 25 days. We are instead going to open the tap and see significantly more increases and hospitality workers will pay the price for that.

At today's press event, Dr. Tony Holohan encourage unvaccinated people to be very careful when using hospitality venues and going indoors elsewhere. He should tell that to the hospitality workers who are, by and large, young and unvaccinated. They have no choice but to turn up for work where they are at risk. There are dangerous implications for society as a whole. The Government is operating on the basis that we only have a forward gear and we must keep going forward. Deputy Gino Kenny has pointed out that we may be in a crisis situation in a month or a month and a half's time. There is a possibility of the Dáil being recalled. I wonder will we manage to get out of the convention centre in September as we are expected to. At that point, the Government may have no choice but to reverse course and reimpose a lockdown. That is the last thing people want to see. They want to see protection of the gains that have been made in terms of outdoor hospitality and so on but that will be endangered by this legislation.

A Government back bench Deputy made a point about the unvaccinated under-18s. There is no basis in public health advice for what the Government is doing. I asked the Taoiseach about it yesterday and he confirmed that NPHET did not sign off on it or agree to it but the Taoiseach said it will be fine because those under-18s will be in a family bubble. He thinks they will be in a family bubble in a pub where people are not wearing masks when the hospitality workers have not been vaccinated. It is a crazy idea that will accelerate the spread of the virus.

There was an alternative which we advocated for seven weeks ago, that is, mandatory hotel quarantine for travellers from England, Scotland and Wales to slow the spread of the Delta variant. There is also an alternative now. It is presented by some in this House that we are opposed to discrimination, and that is true. They suggest that the way to oppose discrimination is to reopen all indoor hospitality for everybody. There is an alternative without the introduction of discrimination. We should hold off on the reopening of indoor hospitality. We are almost there in terms of vaccination. It will only be six, seven or eight weeks until we have a very high level of vaccination in the population. Let us hold off on the reopening of indoor hospitality. Let us provide proper income supports for small pubs, restaurant owners and workers. The Government should withdraw its threatened cuts to the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP. We should protect the lives and incomes of people and in that way put people's needs before the private lobbying that has been going on.

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