Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This week we will discuss the emergency legislation for the second lockdown. Today we have woken up to lockdown No. 2. Up to 150,000 people now have no jobs to go to. Others are returning to working from home in less than ideal conditions. While of course the lockdown is necessary and the ratio of spread of the virus is deeply concerning, our contact tracing system collapsed over the weekend under the volume of cases. This is simply not good enough.

The WHO has repeatedly said that lockdowns are a mechanism to stop the spread of the virus while countries get their houses in order. A lockdown buys time to put in place a robust testing and tracing mechanism. This Government squandered the first lockdown. There was an enormous sense of goodwill from the public. They put their faith in the Government to put in place the necessary hospital capacity and ramp up testing and tracing. Now they find that did not happen.

The Be On Call for Ireland campaign saw tens of thousands of people sign up to help in the Covid battle. From those who came forward, a pool of 1,480 people were eligible, 755 of whom went through the entire process and yet were not hired. Some 300 job-ready applicants have already dropped out. In addition to the Be On Call for Ireland drive, many more part-time and semi-retired GPs came forward to offer their services for contact tracing. Instead of seizing their expertise, they were subjected to reams of form filling, including, in at least one case, a GP being asked for his leaving certificate results. In the ultimate insult, those who were hired were offered zero-hour contracts with no sick pay during a pandemic.

It is simply not good enough. The vast majority of people in this country, young and old, will play their part in bringing the Covid numbers down. They will stay home, wear their masks and socially distance, but they will not tolerate their efforts being wasted a second time because the Government failed to get its house in order. Medical workers who are exhausted will not tolerate it. Teachers, childcare workers, bus drivers, cleaners and retail staff who are continuously being put at risk on the front line will not tolerate it. Existing contact tracers who are worked to the bone will not tolerate it.

The Government has an enormous opportunity to restore public faith in the system. It should hire contract tracers directly, not through a recruitment company that is charging a 20% premium, and pay them a decent wage. Trying to do contact tracing on the cheap will cost us in the long run. It will not just cost us economically. It will cost us in terms of our mental health, well-being and the public buy-in which will collapse if the Government does not get this right. I know the public will do their bit, but we need the Government to play its part.