Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. I do not know where we are going, as a country. I will give the Minister an example. I was talking to a woman last night who is vaccinated. Her youngster is under the limit, in that he or she can walk in with his or her parents to a restaurant or pub. The child will be able to do that next week but in two weeks' time that youngster will not be allowed to walk in because of the date on which the youngster's birthday falls. Coming up with something like that is total and utter madness. It has been talked about how, at Christmas, in fairness to the restaurant sector and pubs, they ran a system in which there was a thermometer. Why can we not be like other countries and have the antigen or PCR test?

We will lose the people. The youngsters of this country have obeyed every type of law that has been brought in. It is okay for the likes of us, who have lived a certain amount and enjoyed ourselves. Those youngsters did not have a disco or anywhere to go for the past year and now we are finally telling them we are not really worried about them. We gave them the final kick in the teeth to make sure that once they are over 18 years of age, they will not be getting into these places, even though their mates who have a job will be within waving out at them, when they have a tray in their hand and are bringing around the drink or bit of food. How anyone can square that circle, I am at a loss to know.

Common sense seems to be gone in here but before we lose more of the public and insult the youngsters of this country more and more, I ask that we turn around and the Minister accepts amendments that have proven to work and be helpful in other countries. We have to call this out. Either we have faith in the vaccine or we have not. In the case of those who have got the two vaccinations, we have to say whether we have faith in that or not. We must say which, because if we keep going down this road of dithering, we will lose the public and especially the youngsters. I ask the Minister to have a rethink before we come to amendments.

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