Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----having to go into intensive care units, elective surgery for other men, women and children is being cancelled. The situation right now is serious. When I introduced this legislation some time ago, many in the Opposition asked that the rolling nature of the extensions be changed. I introduced a substantial amendment having listened very carefully to their contributions. I introduced a substantial amendment to allow for just one roll-over. This is it. Sinn Féin and some others in the Opposition, having secured the amendment, with which I agreed, are now voting against even that one roll-over. Let us think about this for a second. We stand up in this House and say we care about healthcare workers but many Members are going to vote against the measures that would protect them. We stand up and say we need the Covid pass in place but many will vote against the very thing required to keep it in place. That is the reality. We all care. I know we all care about our healthcare system and our healthcare workers but our healthcare workers need legislative protection. Men and women in this country who could die from Covid need legislative protection. To have the ability to keep open our economy and the very pubs and restaurants the Deputies are talking about, we need regulations in place. What this motion is about is allowing those regulations to continue to apply for the next three months. I appreciate that none of this is easy. None of us wants to be having this debate about these regulations but they are important. They are saving lives and protecting healthcare workers and our hospitals. They are allowing businesses to remain open. Without these regulations, which many Members of the Opposition said they will vote against, even though they are for just three months – we should remember that at the end of the three months, there will not be another roll-over and legislation will be required-----

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