Seanad debates

Friday, 6 November 2020

Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020: Motion

 

9:30 am

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be supporting the amendment, which has been tendered to this motion, to extend the legislation only to a date in February. I do so because I think it is important for this House, and Dáil Éireann for that matter, to keep the Government accountable and keep all of the emergency measures under constant review and that we do not find ourselves effectively being run by Government-imposed regulations on lockdowns without adequate accountability.

Senator Ward says that on 5 June we will have plenty of time to look at this legislation and see whether it needs to be extended. The same applies to a date in February as well.There is no reason this legislation should be extended on the basis that it might be necessary to have it in March, April, May or June. Let us see whether it is necessary at that stage. Members referred earlier to the American elections and people have been commenting in the media about the failure of the pollsters in America to gauge what was going to happen in terms of the voting intentions of the American public. It may be there were shy Trump supporters who did not reveal their intentions to pollsters but, also, and this is what is relevant to this legislation, I think the second wind he got was largely due to the fact he was selling to the American people an optimistic message and was engaging with them on the necessity to minimise economic damage. That probably explains why many people, surprisingly perhaps in terms of their origins or their place in American society, liked the message and thought the doom merchants were a bit too pessimistic. It is a fine political art to navigate between realism and pessimism but I genuinely believe the economic, social, cultural and health damage being done by the lockdowns is huge.

I heard on BBC radio today that the number of children under the age of one in the United Kingdom who are being battered and abused, with some of the abuse ending up in death, has increased by 20% during the lifetime of this lockdown. That is only the tip of the iceberg on the basis of anecdotal evidence of a high rate of suicides in Ireland. God only knows what it is like to be cooped up in a house with an abusing spouse, child or whatever.

The mental health of Irish people needs to be respected as well. While appeals are now being made to the public to use hospitals and not to allow their ordinary health to be prejudiced for want of going to hospital, there is and will be a very serious death toll in terms of untreated cancers, psychiatric conditions and the like arising out of the measures we have put in place. That is why we must keep the Government constantly accountable to these Houses. We can decry what happens in Westminster now and then but at least those Tory rebels had a real opportunity to express a view about the latest measures that are being taken in Britain, whereas in Ireland we are going on autopilot where the Government chooses and the most that can happen is an ex postopportunity to challenge what is going on.

On the question of the particular remedies in this legislation, it is the case they would be frightening to a publican or the owner of a licensed premises. They are tough measures but if someone was running a licensed premises in a way which was a danger to public health, perhaps tough remedies are necessary. We must also bear in mind some aspects of what is going on at the moment. Senator Ward will know that on the Main Street of Blackrock there is an open air drink bazaar going on with not very much social distancing. Publicans in Blackrock are keeping an open air fair going on selling drink in this Dublin area. I am against shebeens. I agree with the Minister that it is only fair that publicans should all be on the same level playing field.

It is extremely important that the Irish Government keeps up optimism and that the Oireachtas, in particular, operates so as to ensure that regulations are not put in place on a broad brush basis which are having seriously damaging effects for which there will be no accountability in the end.

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