Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It has not. That is the simple answer and we would want to watch out for that. What has happened is the Opposition has changed its views hourly and daily. It forgets one thing. The virus has changed almost every day and the urgency of the virus has also changed. It has become necessary to do different things in a different fashion in a different sequence on a daily basis.

Let us consider other countries across the globe. They have had the same problems as this country and they have had to change their tactics. They have had to take much more extreme measures than in this country in an effort to curtail the virus. Of course there are some things we can do. Air purification for indoor settings such as schools was mentioned. I think that could work. I am not certain about whether the costs would be prohibitive but it may well have to happen. Some of these inventions have the capacity to remove 100% of the virus. There is a very strong case for them, particularly in indoor settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. The Minister could examine that to see how it might fit in because it would have an impact and make a difference, which we need.

I can understand why Opposition Members, although not all of them, would resort to political allegations. That is fine but the only thing wrong with that is this situation is too serious to allow politics to cloud our vision. We must look at what is before us and how best to deal with it. To be fair, some of the Opposition continue to do that. At this point, we are either against it or for it. There is no sense in pretending it does not exist and that it does not affect us or that it will happen to somebody else. There is a tendency to ignore the fact that more than 5,000 people have died and that some children have been affected and those in other younger age groups, and that there were very serious consequences for them. We tend to forget that as well. The consequences do not go away with the passage time. We must take account of the seriousness of the pandemic. All measures we think of must be put in place to ensure that we curtail its progress.

I wonder how best to proceed from here. Do we listen to the people who protest at the gate and say there should be no vaccines and it is all a conspiracy? That is grand but that affects our families, which it has the capacity to do in every instance. All the sacrifice and good work done by the front-line workers, and by the Minister and the Government, will go to nought if we start to ignore the advice that we have been given. If the Government did not do the right thing we would be guilty of absolute abdication of responsibility. It would been charged with criminal negligence. It is a difficult task and there are more brickbats than plaudits, unfortunately, but that is the way life is. However, the Government has to keep its eye on the ball.

It must keep its eye on the target. It must stay with it. It must call on the public to use their best judgment as well and so far they have, and they have co-operated. However, all the sacrifices the public has made so far will be to no avail unless we continue right down to the end. That spot of light may remain far away in the distance for a long time more - we do not know. However, if we put out the light and stop doing the best things to deal with the situation we will find ourselves in a situation that will be beyond recovery.

In conclusion, I simply tell the Minister to stick with it. He should take the right decisions. He should not be afraid to do what is likely to have a positive impact insofar as the virus is concerned. It is a difficult and challenging road. There will be more challenges and people will ask is this really worth it. They may ask whether we should have done anything. They may ask whether we should let people die, a Darwinian theory suggested in some places, so that eventually we get a resistance to the virus. I think we are doing the right thing. I think the Minister is doing the right thing. He should just continue and hope that sufficient support and co-operation with the policies pursued by the Government on behalf of the people will eventually wear the virus down.

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