Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thank you. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I strongly object to the extension of the Act conferring power on the Minister to impose lockdown restrictions on the nation from this day until 9 June 2021, as set out in Part 3 of the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020. These repressive measures have been railroaded through both Houses without adequate time for debate and scrutiny as to whether they are actually necessary and proportionate.

As the Government lurches mindlessly into another disastrous lockdown, there are already mutterings from the Taoiseach about future lockdown cycles in the new year and beyond. Lockdowns prolong and increase the suffering of everyone. When is the Government going to learn this lesson? Is it when the people and the State are both broke? Our current hospital waiting lists stand at 1 million people, that is, 1 million people are waiting for a procedure or to see a consultant. Let that sink in. The Government is doing its best to ensure the State and small Irish businesses go bust. It is unforgivable that the Government bases the health and wealth of this nation on football and alcohol. This minor distraction was only for the public to take their eyes off the game that the Government is failing to play to save the lives and livelihoods of its people.

Is the level 5 lockdown all the Government and NPHET can come up with again? We have 34 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in ICU. Is the hospital system overwhelmed by Covid-19 or was it ever overwhelmed by Covid-19?Is a lockdown justified or is it just the only answer because the Government failed to find and provide effective solutions? Even the WHO does not advocate lockdowns. It has urged governments to learn how to coexist with the virus in a way that does not require the constant closing down of economies and yet is not associated with high levels of suffering and death. Our Government is failing to do this.

The Great Barrington declaration has been signed by more than 3,500 eminent scientists and doctors. It sets out a balanced, science-based strategy of focused protection to deal with the pandemic. Essentially, protective measures must be focused on high-risk groups - the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions. The Government failed to protect the vulnerable early in the pandemic, with more than half of deaths in care homes. At the same time, it did immense harm to the health, social life and economic and cultural fabric of the nation with a lockdown. This morning in Galway, 26 out of 28 nursing home residents have been diagnosed with Covid and only one nurse and one carer have been available for the past 72 hours because all other staff have tested positive. It is unconscionable that a GP would have to resort to Twitter to get help for this nursing home from the Minister for Health.

The latest fiasco in tracing is just another calamity for the Government. Why are the Department of Health and the HSE not on the same page? Does the left hand not know what the right hand is doing? Why did the HSE hide the tracing mess from the Minister? Why is the school tracing and reporting system so slow? In the north east, only one phone line is available in HSE offices to answer queries from schools in Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan.

Like the previous Government, this Government is mortgaging the nation's future to the tune of some €50 billion in pursuit of a flawed lockdown policy. My children and grandchildren will be paying for this woeful negligence. Compliance with a lockdown cannot last forever, particularly in a free and democratic society. The measures proposed by the Government last night and now before the House to fine people for breach of lockdown rules are a step too far. How many in rural Ireland live more than 5 km from major supermarkets? There is real fear among the people of the nation this morning. The distance must be extended to 10 km. No home can be entered by gardaí without a warrant - let us be clear about that.

This motion continues the amendment to the Mental Health Act up until 9 June 2021. Could a workable solution not have been found to deal with the people suffering mental health issues who are currently detained under the Act? The Government had even admitted until this week that everything was working fine and these measures might not need to come into effect. Why include them in the Act if they will not be needed? Surely psychiatrists and tribunals could perform examinations with the PPE available to all medical professions.

Once again, this legislation is being rushed through the House with little or no thought for the people it will affect or their human rights. The Government came up with a plan to live with Covid. Compliance with that plan has proven unsuccessful in bringing the public with us, so now the Government is reverting to plan A, which is a lockdown. Punish the people.

The Living with Covid plan could have been tweaked to ensure public buy in and that the spirit of the nation was with us. All politicians failed in our messaging. Some of us have displayed reckless behaviour and it is no wonder that we failed to bring the public with us. Heavy-handed policing and the imposition of ad hocfines is not the way to encourage people to limit their social contacts. We have to learn to live with the virus, not merely exist in a state of indefinite lockdowns. This is not living. We must do better for the people of Ireland.