Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I supported this legislation on the last occasion and will do so again today in order to sort out the total confusion on the ground. The manner in which the legislation was implemented in Galway left a lot to be desired. I fully support businesses and their extension into the public space. However, it was done with blatant disregard for the Barcelona declaration which committed to universal access for all of our residents in Galway. That did not happen. No analysis has been carried out on accessibility for persons with disability and the impact on residential areas. We have repeatedly drawn this to the attention of gardaí. The Minister has heard us raise Topical Issues in the Dáil regarding what is happening on the streets of Galway. There is also a concentration of people in a confined area and the injustice for some pubs which do not benefit from these measures.

I see the pragmatic nature of the legislation, but its implications without any assessment is what seriously worries me. In the same vein, that is exactly what has happened with every single piece of emergency legislation that we have introduced, which has become more permanent by the minute with absolutely no proactive discussion in the Dáil. I have the most serious concerns about what is happening in respect of the division in our society and the demonisation of those who have made a decision not to take a vaccination for whatever reason. I have no time for somebody not taking Covid seriously - let me get that out of the way – but I do have the most serious concerns regarding the leadership in this country that seeks to divide and conquer without a proper proactive discussion on how we all now live with Covid.

I am someone who promoted zero Covid, but it has now gone on for so long that we need to learn to live with it in a safe manner. That is not happening. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, has repeatedly raised its concerns regarding what is happening and the extensions of the Covid certificate without any analysis. It is clearly discriminatory, but sometimes discriminatory practices are allowed if they are proportionate, targeted and for a specific purpose. That is absolutely not what is happening. They are being extended.

Vaccine certificates were ostensibly introduced for travel and are now being used for everything without any human rights assessment or assessment of what is happening in respect of those who are vaccinated and are still infectious and those who are not and are taking great care. I want to place on the record every chance I get that I deplore what is happening. I am extremely concerned for the future and our democracy.

We should all be in this together to help each other and protect the most vulnerable. That never happened and it is still not happening. There is an emphasis on opening night clubs, which is clearly a high-risk activity, while there are no day centres open and no respite care. There is something horribly contradictory there. There is also a contradiction whereby someone in my family has had Covid and has a six month guarantee that they are okay, while a letter from NPHET tells us the period involved is nine months. The Minister might clarify that.

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