David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. First, I want to say that it is important for us to reflect on what we have achieved over the past 20 months and on the difficult and traumatic experience that society and people have gone through. It is hard to believe that the first case of Covid-19 was reported 20 months ago. It has been more than 19 months since the first restrictions were imposed. We all remember that we were hopeful that the restrictions would be lifted in a matter of weeks, or maybe in a matter of months. At that point, I do not think anybody would have predicted that 19 months later we would still be sitting here in the Dáil, in limited circumstances, with restrictions put in place, albeit with a date of the 22 October for the lifting of the remaining restrictions.

All of this shows how agile we are as a people. We can respond and deal with all of this trauma in the best way we can. We have seen the best of many people right through this difficult period. I am also conscious that we are not yet fully through Covid. Many people might see 22 October as independence day, which, in many ways, it is. However, we will have to have to remain vigilant and ensure that we continue to monitor the trajectory of the disease. What we can say for certain is that the vaccine roll-out, as well as the almost unprecedented, incredible take-up of that vaccine in this State, has put us in this strong position.

I have said to the Minister numerous times that the political unity, by and large - although there have been differences - we have had throughout the past 19 or 20 months has, in and of itself, played a huge part. While we have had disagreements, we have all been able to get through the last 19 or 20 months in the best way we can. I remember that before a single dose of the vaccine arrived, opinion polls conducted by certain newspapers indicated that the vaccine uptake would be maybe 40%, 50% or 60%. It was also stated that there would be huge levels of vaccine hesitancy. This has not happened. It has not happened because of the leadership that was given by the politicians but, more importantly, by the medical professionals and those who were able to stand up, speak clearly and communicate to people the benefits of getting vaccinated. It is tremendous to see what we have been able to do.

I cannot support this motion and the Minister set out the reason in his opening remarks. The current regulations cease to exist on 9 October, and I get that, while the restrictions in this area and many other areas are due to be lifted on 22 October, and I get that also. There will, therefore, be a gap of a couple of weeks. However, the Minister is seeking a three-month extension to bring us up to 9 January 2022. That is a move I cannot support. On the first day the Minister's predecessor brought forward proposals for emergency powers, we all accepted that they could only be in place for as long as they were necessary and that we could not continue to extend these powers and the sunset clauses forever and a day because they had to come to an end at some point. People expect those emergency powers will come to an end. It is not that they expect every and any restriction to cease because there will continue to be some public health measures in place, for example, mask wearing, but the vast majority of restrictions will come to an end.

The Minister stated that the reason for extending the restrictions to January 2022 is that "the re-introduction of any given measure cannot be fully ruled out". That is a factual statement and I accept it. This, he continued, is "in order to enable us to respond to the disease and what challenges its transmission might pose for us. In effect, we must continue to ensure our response is agile and flexible." The Act, the Minister added, "maintains the potential and flexibility to respond to an emerging Covid-19 threat."

The Minister knows - I say this with sincerity - that if there were to be a change in the trajectory of the disease, Members would be capable, as they have done in the past, of coming into the House to agree new regulations, powers, laws or whatever else might be necessary at a given time and would respond in the agile way described by the Minister, without being required to keep powers which we agreed from the start would not be kept longer than necessary. This is important for people's public confidence, having come through all that they have and done what was asked of them. The majority of people abided by the restrictions most of the time, which is what got us through this. They will want to know that when restrictions come to an end on 22 October, emergency powers will, insofar as possible, also come to an end and we will not keep them on the Statute Book. That would not be the right way to do it. At any point in the future, we can come back to these measures if public health advice changes. We hope and expect it will not, but I am confident, given where we are and our extremely high vaccine uptake, we will not have to consider the reintroduction of new measures in January next year. That is my hope and while we cannot rule anything out, I am sincerely of that view, as are the public health experts and, I am sure, the Minister. We are all in a positive mindset around where we will be in the time ahead.

Maintaining the powers provided for in this Act is wrong. We explained why we voted against extensions in the past and I will repeat those reasons to the Minister directly. What the House did was unprecedented. We passed legislation to give the Minister emergency powers to make regulations. We asked that he bring the regulations before the Dáil and Seanad in order for us to scrutinise them and afford us proper democratic scrutiny of regulations. At times, there has been confusion. We went through some of that during the summer when this confusion caused all sorts of unnecessary political turmoil, as the Minister will know. The confusion around regulations, guidelines and all of that arose because we did not have proper democratic debate in this House. Even Ministers, including the Tánaiste, were unaware of what was a guideline and what was a regulation, and what was right and what was wrong. It ended up creating unnecessary problems for everybody, including for the hospitality and entertainment sectors. We are being asked to do the same here. We may well see regulations in the future in which Members will have no hand, act or part. We will not be able to vote on them, debate them or respond to them in a democratic way, other than through the airwaves or if we are lucky enough to get an opportunity to converse with the Minister afterwards in the Chamber or through the media. That is not the way it should be done.

I would be remiss of me, in my last few minutes, not to mention the maternity restrictions. We know these restrictions are presenting a major difficulty and challenge for women and their partners. I was in Cork yesterday meeting the CEOs of hospitals and health campaigning groups as part of my role as Opposition health spokesperson. I met a number of women who have campaigned for these restrictions to be lifted. They are reasonable people and understand the practicality of infection control. They know there are issues in terms of unvaccinated pregnant women and possibly unvaccinated staff. They know there are infection control measures that will still need to be in place. However, they are looking towards 22 October, when restrictions will be lifted and people will be allowed to go to nightclubs, restaurants and bars unrestricted, yet there is absolutely no guarantee that we will have unrestricted access for partners of pregnant women at all stages of pregnancy. That is fundamentally wrong at this stage.

I am not an expert in infection control, and I understand we have to listen to experts, but we also have to listen to the experiences of women. My colleague, an Teachta Ó Laoghaire, recounted his personal experience of what he and his partner went through. Many other people have told their stories as well. This issue needs to be dealt with. When I met the women in Cork yesterday, they asked me who is in charge and who makes the decisions. The Minister says an easing is needed. The HSE clinical directors and others have said we can look at easing the restrictions. The entire political system seems to agree that it needs to be done, yet it has not happened and nor is there a date for it. We know what will happen on 22 October for the hospitality sector, including nightclubs, bars and restaurants. However, I cannot look a pregnant woman in the eye and say restrictions on her partner will also be lifted. That is wrong. There will be a protest tomorrow, as I am sure the Minister is aware, seeking common sense solutions. The Oireachtas and Minister should support these women and ensure those restrictions come to an end.

See this speech in context