Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My contribution will be very short. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, to the House. I wish him well and congratulate him on his new position. I fully support this Bill, which is needed to underpin the level 5 restrictions which have been put in place. The reality is that there was very limited adherence to the guidelines that were previously proposed. That is why are we back at level 5. We need stronger measures to support our doctors, nurses, teachers and all those who work, and have worked over recent months, on the front line to deal with Covid.

The reality is that businesses will struggle to reopen and their owners will struggle to save their livelihoods. We have seen people flout the rules because there have been no implications for doing so over recent months. House parties have been held, shebeens have been set up and so on. We need these new regulations to save businesses and, more importantly, to save lives, which is what it is all about.