Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I want to follow up on the question Deputy Connolly asked earlier. As the Taoiseach knows, Deputy Connolly and I are very strongly in favour of the vaccination programme. We think people should get their boosters and we agree about the injunction to protect life and limb. However, there are human rights considerations for the small number of people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons or who have not yet been persuaded, sometimes because they do not really understand the issue. I just want to draw a contrast with the North of Ireland in this regard. The North is avoiding that issue of discrimination against that small group by giving people options other than the vaccination certificate, namely, testing, in order to allow them access theatres, bars, restaurants and so on. In fact, that is the case in most of Europe. The Government should consider doing that because, even though I am absolutely a believer in the vaccination campaign, that sort of divisiveness and finger-pointing at a relatively small group is not helpful. It smacks of the mandatory approach that the WHO has warned strongly against and which I think is counterproductive. I ask the Taoiseach to consider that so we can end that sort of divisive situation.

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