Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I said earlier I am against the Bill and this amendment is talking about a three-month review. We should be reviewing it in two weeks. If that means the return of the Dáil, so be it. We have to understand that people's livelihoods, and their whole lives for that matter, are at risk. This is completely unworkable. Common sense will tell you that. There will be legal challenges to it straight away. It is causing a massive division in our country already. It is something on which we were all meant to be working together and bringing everyone along. That kind of romantic thought was going through the Government's mind at one stage but now it does not give a damn about anyone. The Government can split them left, right and centre, as long as it gets its way.

The Government would not be in the position it is now only for the few backbenchers kicking and lashing for a few days, after it had made the foolish decision in the first place to keep them closed. Unfortunately, these backbenchers did not have enough neck to stand up here tonight and force the Government's hand and a change of mind on its part. It is difficult for me and other Deputies to hear them saying one thing on a radio station or in the newspaper and another thing in the Dáil. They think people at home do not hear what they are saying. They failed to support the local businesses and their local restaurant owner or publican, whether it be in west Cork or throughout the country, by accepting this Bill. Even contemplating this type of amendment is kind of kicking the can down the road when it comes to their businesses.

That a member of staff - a bouncer or someone else - will have to stand at the entrance to a premises and question people from A to Z about their health is both amazing and astonishing. I am concerned about people with illnesses which prevent them being vaccinated, those who would prefer to be inoculated but who cannot be because the vaccine is not yet available to them and, as already stated, young workers. What is proposed is a complete and utter attack on the young people of Ireland. It is not attacking anyone else, only the youngest people of Ireland. The majority of the latter are the people who may want to get vaccinated. That is up to them. If, however, they want to be vaccinated but cannot be, they will not allowed in. The Minister is kicking them outside the door in the midst of what has been a difficult time for them. Young people have suffered enough. The Minister should have thought this through.

Part of this Bill is that you cannot go to the counter of a bar. That is astonishing. As already stated, Deputy Denis Naughten mentioned that you can go into a cinema and there is no regulation, as such. It is just commonsense regulation. In this instance, we are talking about a person who is fully vaccinated going up to the counter in a bar. Is the Government going to come up with legislation to say that people can go shopping and then go up to the counter and pay for what they intend to buy? Is this the road we are travelling? The Minister will say it is not, but what is the difference? It is the same story. People want to go and order whatever they want, such as their food and drink, and then go back to their table. They will not be allowed to do that but they can do it in other establishments. The Government deems it to be wrong in one instance and okay in another.

The Government is discriminating against people in the context of their rights. There is significant anger about this matter. The Government has not looked at all the reasons. Businesses were well prepared to take people's temperatures at the door and have hand sanitisers and social distancing in the bar and restaurant. All these things would have been workable solutions and maybe one or two more workable solutions. We talk about antigen testing and stuff like that. Nobody is willing to come up with some kind of workable solution. What the Government wants to do is create a situation where it is going to force these businesses to close. That is what will happen. They have a gun to their heads. They need to open their doors but the Government has had them shut for 400 days. As a result, 260,000 jobs and between €5 billion and €7 billion have been lost to the economy because of their being closed.

I do not want to go on anymore because other people want to speak, but I certainly will not be supporting this legislation.

See this speech in context