Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The truth is that the Government is travelling blind. It has been blindsided. I am not necessarily saying it is the Government’s fault, because many things have happened that people did not accept. I am not saying anybody could be fully aware of what is going to happen but the Government was going to wrap up NPHET in October. This is how close we were to the Government saying it was all done and dusted. Mr. Paul Reid said that, once we reached a vaccination rate of 80%, all restrictions would be lifted in the State. The level of transmission between people who are vaccinated is far higher than anybody expected. I asked the Chief Medical Officer whether any scientific research was done on whether Covid passes work, and he said there was not. I have asked for evidence about mandatory masks for young children in schools, but the Government has provided none so far. In many ways, we are working in an evidence-free zone so, at the very least, we need to collect the data that have been produced to make sure people can understand them. Have any scientific studies been done on whether mandatory quarantine works?

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