Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Let me place once again on the record that I dearly value human safety and human health. We all make choices based on knowledge. I make my comments today knowing that the 550 Covid patients are in hospital with 91 in intensive care, and all of the other facts.

In my remaining time let me address what is going on here. We are being asked to extend draconian legislation without the slightest justification in the Minister's response as to why, without any human rights assessment and without any explanation of the contradictions. Somebody close to me had Covid and has recovered over six months although they were told nine months. In one of his speeches, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, referred to a grace period of nine months which then became six months. There are many other contradictions, such as have been read out today relating to Basketball Ireland. There are at least three or four emails there where people point out contradictions over and over in the way they have been treated. Last week, a mother called up when her daughter was a contact. The mother was told an antigen test would be sent out, which was never sent out. There are any number of contradictions.

I would also like to stick with the utter danger there is to our democracy in the way the Government is dealing with this pandemic. We are certainly not all in it together. It is discriminatory and unacceptable, and it frightens me almost as much as the pandemic has frightened me, in terms of trying to protect people. On a personal level I do not have the same view but I certainly realise how significant this is. The World Health Organization has adopted a different approach around booster vaccination. I am glad that the decision has been made to allow healthcare staff to have the choice of a booster if that is what they want. I am absolutely dispirited about the twisting of language and the divide and conquer aspect. There is a demonisation rather than building up a public health system to face this pandemic and the next one, which is inevitable. There is a failure of the Government to clarify what improvements have been made or to take responsibility for the damning situation that has existed in our hospitals, and which continues to exist, as well as no public health on the ground.

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