Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It belies the fact we unanimously gave the Minister and the Government the power back in March. We stood here and gave it that power on the basis of a contract the Government would be honest and come back to us. It has never happened. This morning the Taoiseach told us we have discussed legislation. We never have. Last week was the first opportunity I had. I had two 20-minute slots and I am on record as thanking the system for that. I would say that will be the last time I or anybody else gets that type of time.

You would nearly give up at this point. I am going to stick to the amendments and why they are important. It is about scrutiny and oversight of the regulation so we can monitor what is happening. Why is that important? It is because of all the inconsistencies we have itemised. Practically everybody on the Opposition side has done so. I will stick to the ones I know personally. There is the six months' immunity Deputy McNamara referred to. I raised that last week. I am still waiting on a response from the Department and the Minister's office on why there is a distinction between six months' immunity and HIQA and NPHET saying nine months. It seems Deputy McNamara has seen something else in relation to endurance. It is simply unacceptable a member of my family has a pass saying six months when NPHET and HIQA said nine months and other authorities said longer. It is a positive thing that the Government would look at those who have had Covid and how they have managed to survive and not get it again. It is something we should be looking at. We should be looking at those who have not taken vaccinations for various reasons and how they have managed to survive Covid. Vaccination is only one part of tackling this public health crisis and it must always and everywhere be voluntary.

I will finish on something else Deputy McNamara raised, and which I raised last week. At what point will this stop? I do not mean the ever-changing virus. I do not mean the need for us to make our people safe and have a public health structure on the ground that is fit for purpose and hospitals that are fit for purpose. When will the never-ending regulations without scrutiny stop? I mean the ones that give the Minister unlimited power to decide I need three boosters to have a cup of coffee or I need five boosters to have a pint or six boosters to stay a couple of hours to have dinner. At what stage will that stop or has the Minister ever even thought about that? They are very serious topics that should be discussed. We should discuss where we are going with the pharma solution to this, which should be only one part of it. Of course, all the while the rich countries, including this one, seem to have endless pockets and the poorer countries have no access, and there is no equity of access for them.

I indicated on Second Stage that I was against this Bill. I was keeping an open mind about amendments, but it seems that the Minister has indicated by his silence that he will not accept any of them. That is entirely unacceptable and undemocratic. The approach of the Government poses the most serious threat to our democratic system and to the sense of solidarity we all should have with one another in dealing with the public health crisis.

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