Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am very grateful for the little time I have. If the nose of the Chief Medical Officer is itchy this evening, it would be no wonder. I do not like naming individuals, but we must ask what is Dr. Holohan playing at? The Government and the Minister are attempting to pass legislation telling the nation to do one thing and then the Chief Medical Officer is coming out at a critical time, when there is enough confusion and uncertainty, and saying something else entirely. Is the aim to create division, chaos and uncertainty? Is that what the Minister is trying to do here today? Is there communication going on at all? Has the Minister spoken to Dr. Holohan and told him that the Government is trying to pass legislation to allow people to go indoors? I ask because Dr. Holohan has stated that people under the age of 18 years old should stay outside.

This is crazy beyond belief. Father Ted at his best and at the height of his glory with Father Dougal and all the rest of them would not have made this up. No way in the world could they make this up. It is not funny and not something to be laughed at, because it is so serious. I am fearful about what the Irish people are facing. I refer to the way the Government behaved yesterday in respect of the announcements, where one Minister said one thing and then another Minister said something completely different. They did so literally within minutes of each other. They are obviously not talking to each other. They are all on solo runs, The Green Party is doing one thing, Fine Gael is doing another and Fianna Fail something else again. We also have two people who want to be Taoiseach at the same time. There can only be one Taoiseach in the country, not two, but, unfortunately, two people actually think they are Taoiseach. They are going out, trying to outdo each other and trying to make themselves look good in their own right. The people suffering as a result are those in the hospitality sector, the public and those facing all this uncertainty. That is why I am so concerned.

People will come in here shortly and vote blindly, no matter what people are saying. Those Deputies are just going to toe the party line and the Government line. To me, a Deputy is a messenger of the people in the constituency that he or she has been lucky enough to be elected to represent. Deputies come into this House, though, and just row in behind the party, while ignoring the concerns which exist. If we study the legislation which the Minister is asking us to enact tonight, it is fundamentally wrong and will lead to a society divided. I said that yesterday and I reiterate it today. At least I am not like those Ministers who are totally inconsistent in everything they say. I have been consistently saying that this legislation is going to create a division. It is wrong. I have said consistently that the people I represent in County Kerry, including the hoteliers, the restaurateurs and the publicans, should be trusted to open their doors in their own way. In other words, they should be allowed to control the number of people they allow into their establishments. If we think back to how they operated when they were allowed to open last year, they certainly operated their properties in a good and safe way.

I certainly do not want to see anyone getting ill or dying. I am of the view, however, that what is being done now and what has gone on in recent weeks in the context of trying to keep people outside premises, and congregating outside those premises, is wrong. Leaving these vast premises denuded of people inside is also wrong. We should allow for people’s judgement to operate in their premises in their own way, but again the Minister does not trust them. Again, I suggest that the Minister has some kind of anti-publican and anti-business outlook. We also have some Deputies who jump up and down here and who profess to represent working people. They are the very people who would run a million miles if they met a day's work. Yet, we see them jumping up and down here at every opportunity and saying that we should close this and shut that. They are saying that because they have an anti-work ethic. They would not work to save their lives. It is lucky that they are Deputies because if they had to live in any other world and do something, they could not get out of their own way with the height of their laziness. Those Deputies are in here yapping and yapping. Their months are the only muscles in their bodies that get exercised.

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