Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----which we have been asked to introduce, and we do want to advance Government legislation. That is a central purpose of this House. We will liaise with Deputy Boyd Barrett, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Business Committee to find an appropriate slot for discussing what we recognise is a really important report.

In response to Deputy Naughten, we recognise that for many people the decision on mask wearing is a significant change and that there will be concern among many people, including some older people, some people who are immunocompromised and so on. It is important to restate that the wearing of masks on public transport remains advised, so it is no longer mandatory but it is still the advice that people should wear masks on public transport. As a Government, we received public health advice that there was no longer a public health rationale for maintaining the mandatory nature of that. On balance, we felt that removing the mandate from next week was the correct course of action, but I expect that many people will continue to choose to wear a mask in many settings, certainly on public transport services.

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