Dáil debates

Tuesday, 16 November 2021

Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021: Motion

 

5:00 pm

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to support the extension of the Act to ensure temporary outdoor seating areas in pubs and restaurants are covered by the liquor licences of the premises. Obviously the use of outdoor seating over the summer in particular was very important in helping to bring down Covid numbers. It also helped to make our towns and city centres more vibrant. It is possible for us to sustain outdoor living outside of the pandemic, particularly in summertime but even outside of the summer. There is much that we have done that needs to be continued.

It is the case that while we are, correctly, extending the Act, the winter weather is delayed but presumably it is coming. When it gets colder, more and more people will leave the outdoor areas and move indoors in bars and restaurants. This, in turn, will pose very serious challenges. I have to say that today's announcement by the Government of the new midnight rule smacks of more theatre about Covid, as opposed to doing what is necessary. It was Orla Hegarty who asked, quite appropriately, whether we are dealing with a virus or a vampire. What are the methods we are taking to try to stop the spread of Covid? There has been so much theatre in the course of the pandemic that involves pretending to be doing something as opposed to dealing with the actual issue.

We are speaking about being outdoors because being outdoors is central when dealing with an airborne virus. To the extent that we have licensing for outdoor premises, there is some thought on the part of the Government that the question of an airborne virus is very important. It simply boggles the mind that almost two years into an airborne pandemic we have had no real action to improve indoor air quality in bars, restaurants, schools or offices. There are no legally enforceable measures to ensure there is proper ventilation. Very few workplaces have CO2 monitors and practically no air filtration systems are in use, including in our schools.

When it was believed the virus was primarily transferred by our hands and on surfaces, action was taken to encourage regular hand washing. Gels were provided in bars. Surfaces were cleaned regularly. Over a year ago, we discovered it is primarily airborne. Yet, when we go into a pub or restaurant we will get hand sanitiser but there is a very large chance there will not be a window or a door open in the place or any concern about it. This is because the main public health messaging continues to be to wash our hands. I am all for washing our hands, and it is a good and important thing to do, but it ignores the elephant in the room, which is the question of ventilation.

If restaurants do not enforce proper hand hygiene, they can be shut down but if they have no ventilation or if they have CO2 rates of 1,500 to 2,000 parts per million, nothing can happen to them. Next week, the Dáil will have a chance to correct this by passing People Before Profit's Workplace Ventilation (Covid-19) Bill 2021, the aim of which is to finally establish enforceable standards for clean air and ventilation. That action on ventilation is necessary, as well as encouraging outdoor dining, which this Act does.

The other relevant measures include the introduction of midnight closing, etc. The tendency, unfortunately, will be towards increasing lockdown and sectors going back to being closed. Significant questions will arise when sectors which were just beginning to be opened up will start to be closed again with this midnight closing. I think that is going to go further. At the same time, the Government is proceeding with plans to cut the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP. Just today, people were cut to €250 or just over €200, which is the same level as the dole. People who work in pubs and nightclubs are, at the very least, going to have their hours restricted. Others will be unemployed again as a result of the pandemic.

The new restrictions were made necessary because the Government has allowed Covid-19 to get out of control again, cut back on test-and-trace and refused to enforce proper ventilation in pubs, workplaces and schools, etc. Workers should not be forced to foot the Bill. If it was accepted that one needed a minimum of €350 a year or six months ago, why in this wave of the pandemic is it acceptable to cut it in the run-up to Christmas? It should not be cut; it should be restored to €350 as long as the serious effects of the pandemic are with us, as long as parts of the economy are being shut down and as long as people are unemployed.

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