Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I genuinely wanted to respond to Deputy Boyd Barrett in particular because these are his amendments, which were very legitimately tabled. It is my hope that this will be a non-issue before the first period of three months is up. I would genuinely like to engage with Deputy Boyd Barrett on the debate because the position he has outlined is a legitimate one. I take a different position but at least the Deputy has said that in order for there to be no difference, we should just keep the entire sector closed until it is safe for everybody. I have a different view but I respect that that is a legitimate view. There are others who want to open up everything now. That will lead to a considerable number of deaths and families mourning at funerals. If those people are willing to accept that what they are advocating will lead to a lot of families mourning loved ones, then that too is a legitimate position. I am not sure what Sinn Féin's position is because each of its Deputies seems to have come in with a different position. The position in the middle seems to be that we can open up now fully and can do so safely. That is disingenuous. Deputy Cullinane and I do not always agree but in fairness to him there is good and reasonable debate between the parties.

It simply is not the case in the context of this issue. I am sure the Deputy will have looked at the modelling data that NPHET showed this evening on our trajectory, not only with regard to cases but also in respect of hospitalisations. Thankfully, we are coming from a low base of ICU admissions. We could not, however, open up an entire hospitality industry protected only by testing. That directly contradicts the public health advice we have received. The position being taken by Sinn Féin is not a reasonable one. I will not be accepting the amendment but I have a lot of sympathy with many of the things the Deputy said. My hope is that it will become a non-issue because we will be through this before the end of the first three-month period.

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