John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The point I will make has nothing to do with the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, who is the Government representative in the House today. I have spent the past two days listening to Senators from all sides talk about rushing through legislation. Senator Ward spoke eloquently on this just now. It becomes a little like the boy who cried wolf when we continuously argue that Bills are emergency legislation which we need to get through. As a Government Senator, I find it increasingly difficult to continually defend emergency legislation.

On a more positive note, for any Members of this House who wish to be elected to the Dáil at the next election, the Minister of State provides a blueprint, having been elected and made a Minister of State on his first day. I congratulate him on having never lost an election in 21 years. Many of us have lost elections.

I did not plan to speak in this debate but I was watching from my office and when I heard Senator Byrne speak so eloquently about some of the anti-mask protests I wanted to comment. We always need to encourage people to go along with wearing masks and do it by consent but some people will continuously flout that. Their opposition to the democratic institutions of the State is motivated by such hatred that they will flout the regulations at every opportunity. I listened to the points made by Senators Higgins and McCallion that perhaps these are too prohibitive or that we might be going too far by fining people.