Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gallagher for sharing time. I read with interest Sarah McInerney's article in The Sunday Times last Sunday, and I agree with the sentiments in the article. We have been talking about the reopening of pubs too much given that there are other, more pertinent, issues for the country to deal with, such as the reopening of the schools, the safety of children, the increasing death toll from the pandemic and many other pressing issues. However, we must deal with it. Some of the publicans I have spoken to in my constituency in Mayo want this legislation. For the most part, they are doing things by the rules and doing them well. They do not like to see the very small number of publicans who are flouting the rules and taking the opportunity to open for longer and have people on the premises for longer, whereas others are not doing that. It is okay that some publicans are not serving food and do not wish to serve food and they should be allowed to open. I certainly welcome that date.

There has been a particular issue with smaller pubs in rural communities. We have spoken a great deal about pubs in the context of drinking, nights out and socialising, but the local pub in a small rural community can be far more than that. It is a meeting place. We all have felt the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic differently. Some of us experienced a positive lockdown as we had more time with family and children. I got to stay at home with my family and I have a back garden, but things are very different for other people. It was not the same for everybody. I think of the person who is a bachelor farmer in the west of Ireland who, perhaps, is living alone and does not have social interaction. There was a point when there were no funerals, no mass, no access to the local pub and the mart was closed. For some people that is their social scene. That is where they meet their friends. They get out of the house and that is where they have conversations and interact with other people. There was a huge void when all those things were taken away. It has exposed the great level of isolation and loneliness in many parts of our society and country.

We must be careful not to be too flippant and dismissive of the real need to reopen these pubs. They are not just a place for people to have an alcoholic drink, but a place to socialise and connect with people. They are community meeting rooms. They are places where the local community often come to have their community council meetings or where somebody goes to meet neighbours.There is an awful lot more to it than has been acknowledged by some people in this debate. I disagree with the commentary of some public representatives that these laws are draconian. It is opposition for opposition's sake. Anyone who engages with the publicans that are abiding by the rules will know that they welcome this measure and do not fear anything from it. They want a level playing field for all and for everybody to abide by the same rules.