Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I strongly support this amendment. I must say, it was news to me that there could be issues for people in these circumstances, needing a termination. Obviously, given its nature, it is a very time-sensitive issue. The Minister must absolutely clarify what the situation is for people who find themselves in these circumstances. Unless he can do that, I strongly urge him to accept this amendment. It would be intolerable for anybody to find themselves in these circumstances. I commend Deputy Smith on bringing forward this amendment. I look forward to hearing the Minister's clarification on it.

I, too, welcome what the Minister has said about providing better communication regarding statutory instruments and regulations. If we were just starting off in the early stages of the pandemic, it would be fine to hear that, but we are all here with the experience of 20 months. In the last 18 months since the current Government came into office, in particular, we have had to plead with the Minister and the Taoiseach for basic information. We have had to beg them to arrange briefings for us, either at a political level - and there have been hardly any briefings at a political level, which are very much necessary - or indeed, briefings from NPHET or the HSE. We beg for these briefings and I think there have been two since early summer, which happened after us putting a lot of pressure on. That is not acceptable. We should be receiving regular updates on this, particularly in light of the comments I made earlier where I said that in the main, Members on the Opposition side of this House have been supportive of measures that the Government has been taking. The least the Minister could do is to include us in information, such as the modelling, the inside recommendations and the data of NPHET, but we have been left outside entirely. It is very hard to believe that things are going to change at this point. I am sure the Minister understands why we do not place much credibility on those undertakings.

The final point I wish to make concerns amendment No. 6. This amendment is not proposing a vote; it is simply proposing that any new regulations would be notified to Members and laid before the Houses. The purpose of the amendment is to allow for better communication, as I said earlier, and to alert us, as Members of the House, to what is happening, so that we know what the Government is proposing. It is also to alert enforcement agencies and the general public with clear, concise and factual information, as opposed to the kind of spin that people are trying to find their way through. There is far too much spin. I just wanted to clarify that. What the Minister said earlier about a vote and delays that may apply to other proposals does not apply to amendment No. 6. I will press that further when we get to that point.

On amendment No. 5, I am strongly supportive of it. I call on the Minister to provide crystal-clear clarification on the issue.

See this speech in context