Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the comments of the leader of the Green Party in the Seanad, Senator Pauline O'Reilly. It would be helpful if the Leader wrote to the President of the European Commission and emphasised the importance and urgency of a progressive migration programme for the European Union. Europe should be leading on this. It has been far too slow. We should call on the President of the European Commission to take immediate action.

Nearer to home, Dublin city is more my concern this morning. I would like the Leader to be a strong voice for the young people of Dublin, for parents, for the owners and operators of public houses and restaurants, for those who work in the entertainment business and for taxi drivers. Our city is on its knees. It is dead. I walked down Molesworth Street yesterday evening and it was empty. I was coming in this morning and Dorset Street was empty. There is nobody in the city. The restaurants are dead. The children of this city and their parents have taken the lead. Children have gone back to school. Young people in this city are sitting in classrooms with masks on for eight hours a day. If we are going to talk about shutting the city down, we need to do it in a proportionate way. Young people have had the courage to go back into classrooms. They and their teachers are putting up with masks for eight hours a day. We need to ask the Government not to stop them from playing football, hurling, soccer or whatever. Gardaí are tackling higher levels of antisocial behaviour in the city than in previous times. Young people need outlets and they need to be able to use their energy. Their parents need to be supported.

The outbreaks in Dublin city have not happened in public houses or restaurants. We need to ensure that testing is freely available and without referrals from GPs. A system in this regard has been piloted in Limerick. I would like the Minister to make that available in Dublin so that people will be encouraged to get tested and will not be obliged to wonder whether it will take 48 hours to get a result or if they will be out of operation for five days. I ask that the Minister for Health come to the House next week to talk to us about testing in Dublin city.