Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for all of the wide and varied items they brought up this morning. As I have so little time, I will respond by saying that for anybody who has asked me to write letters on specific topics, I will do so and I will send them a copy of the letter individually. With regard to anybody who has asked for a debate, I know it is a symptom of this House that we stand up and ask for the debate, and we want it immediately or next Tuesday. While next week's business is obviously arranged, for debates that are particularly important, such as those on bus transport, aviation and the Moorhead report, I am trying to organise those for the beginning of the following week. Members should rest assured I will get to them as quickly as I can.

While I am speaking about aviation, I know many in this House and in the other House had representations from the thousands of workers in Aer Lingus as to the major difficulties they have had in recent weeks in accessing a simple short-time working scheme because they have had their salary reduced from 50% to 30%. I have no idea what is going on in Aer Lingus but I want to call publicly on Aer Lingus to pull out all the stops today for those employees who are waiting to get that extra few bob, just to keep them on the bloody breadline. It is not even what we would call having a decent standard of living but just to give them what they are entitled to. It should pull out all the stops to make sure that the forms are signed and that the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, which is ready and willing to engage with the staff through its Intreo offices, gets all the assistance it needs from Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus should also make a very clear statement that any moneys it has claimed through the wage subsidy scheme or the unemployment payment scheme, individually and on behalf of independent employees, was passed on to those employees - not the general statement that has been made that all moneys that were taken through the temporary wage subsidy scheme were passed on to employees, but that any money that was claimed in the name of a person was 100% passed on to that person, not to the general population of employees in Aer Lingus.

I disagree with the statement made by Senator McDowell this morning that he does not have confidence in either NPHET or the HSE. I would have to tell him, from personal experience, that the people who give up all of their time, and it is all of their time, to providing us with the regulations and the recommendations do it purely to protect our public health. We can all have opinions as to whether the communications are up to scratch, and all that stuff, and a lot of fair criticism has been made, but they are making recommendations purely on the basis of our best interests and in the best interests of public health. There are competing economic interests and competing social interests, and that is obviously what the Cabinet Covid committee has to decide on, and then make those recommendations. However, honest to goodness, these people are giving up all of their time just to make sure we are safe.If one is looking for clear communication, all one has to do is listen back to Mr. Paul Reid on "Morning Ireland" this morning. He could not have made it more simple and clear that the recommendations NPHET is making are to get us all to remind ourselves of the things we did religiously, probably over-zealously, in March, April and May and to go back to the basics of taking personal responsibility and behaving responsibly towards others. The number of people moving around Dublin city is the major problem at the moment. We will all be devastated if we cannot support the restaurants and bars and the artists and others who make parts of our cities, towns and counties so vibrant but, at the end of the day, we have to mind public health. There are sacrifices that we will not be happy about but they will have to be made in the next couple of weeks and months. I ask for Senators' understanding for the work NPHET is doing.

I had the pleasure of spending a day in a camp in Greece. It was one of the most profound things I have done in my life. It had such an impact on me that I am still in contact with some of those, including refugees, I met. Small children, aged four, five and six, came up to me, held my hand and brought me to what they considered their homes, which were square boxes. I do not mean to be disrespectful or critical of the Government response or of a Minister's response, but taking four children is a joke. We have issues in this country and Senator McGreehan beautifully described the challenges we have and her mother's advice with regard to the rise of the far right in this country, but we are a welcoming nation and we can and should do more. On that basis, I will write to the Minister and say that we want to do more. If it is a question of money, by God, we are borrowing money to beat the band at the moment. The least we can do is borrow a few bob more to show the humane side of the Irish people. With Senators' permission, I will write that letter to the Minister.

Senator Fitzpatrick mentioned that we need strong leadership and a strong plan from the European Union. Some Senators may have had the time to listen to Ursula von der Leyen's speech on Wednesday morning. This speech showed the powerhouse and political force that she is and I hope it won over her detractors, and there have been a few in the last year who questioned her suitability for the job. Mark my words, Dr. von der Leyen will make sure there is a strong immigration plan and that the humanity that exists in most countries in the EU extends to all countries and all migrants who find their way to our shore. I thank Senators and apologise for rabbiting on for such a long time.

I accept the two amendments to the Order of Business proposed by Senators Norris and Conway, respectively.