Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

During the first year of lockdown, more than 20,000 fines were handed out for the breaking of Covid regulations. A special hotline was set up for people to report illegal gatherings. Some 3,000 people were fined for attending social gatherings that broke the law, while another 700 were fined for organising those events. Last summer, a group of young people socialising on South William Street were batoned simply for the crime of enjoying an outdoor summer.

Instead of a visit by the Garda, the champagne party in the Department of Foreign Affairs in June 2020 got a visit from the Minister, Deputy Coveney. He admits to visiting the office at 11.10 p.m., after the champagne had been popped. He seems to be claiming that after opening the champagne and taking the picture they all went back to work late into the night. Does the Taoiseach seriously expect people to believe that story? Does he think the Garda should investigate this party or are Covid fines only for the little people? Does he have confidence in an in-house investigation by a hand-selected civil servant or does he instead agree that the Minister should come before the House to answer questions on this matter?

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