Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, who is here to debate what must be described as a critical issue. I feel a little bit inferior sometimes in a debate like this because I listen to such eminent lawyers as Senators McDowell, Bacik, Ward and Martin. It is fascinating to watch them go through this piece by piece. Some salient and important points have been made on both sides of the argument.

I do not even like the words "enforcement powers" any more than I favour the guillotining of debates on Bills, and I have said this before. I do not like that type of politics. Covid-19 has turned this world upside down. It has caused rancour, division and huge economic scars which we will only begin to see as we move forward. It has created a serious challenge to every government. Deciding how to handle it was not easy.

Even though I would not count myself as being as qualified as some people to speak thoroughly on this matter, I feel that, particularly with Christmas coming up, that the Government could not get rid of these particular powers on 9 November. Perhaps pushing them out to June causes concern to some. That is, however, the natural reaction of people who have been virtually locked away for much of 2020. In that context, it would be good if the number of people infected with Covid-19 and the number of deaths continue to drop. This is happening and it is positive, but there will be an understandable and natural reaction whereby people will want to break free.

I hear the debate about people coming home for Christmas. I shudder to think what is going through the minds of families whose loved ones are spread all over the world and who may not be able to get back home for Christmas. That would be extraordinarily sad. How do we tackle that eventuality and how can we assure people that we will be able to make some arrangements for families?

I listened to what Senator McDowell had to say. We must be careful with regard to Garda powers and so forth. As a result of travelling to and from work most days and speaking to gardaí, however, I must state that it is clear me that they are doing a really excellent job. They are in conversation with the people. This does not involve a dictum or laying down of the law, it involves people conversing with gardaí to let them know to where they are travelling. Actually, I agree somewhat with Senator Martin regarding tailbacks. I have been caught in 6 km and 7 km tailbacks heading out of Dublin. By the time we leave here this evening, the tailback may be gone. If I encounter one however, it puts and hour and a half onto my journey. The point I wish to make is that when I am caught up in traffic that is moving at snail's pace a couple of kilometres back from the checkpoint, I notice the business people and the workers from County Mayo. I see the vehicles of the Lynch roofers from County Roscommon and the stonemason from Ballinasloe. All these lorries have their labels on them. Why are they being stopped? Common sense will tell a person that those people are coming to Dublin to do a day's work. We do not have much of it down in the west. That is where they get the work and then they go home.

Could someone not show a bit of imagination and divert such traffic past checkpoints via the slip roads along the route? Then, the officers manning those checkpoints could check whichever other vehicles they want. Would that not be a practical way to do it? If this was done, we would not have tailbacks. I can tell the Minister of State that some of the people, including me, who have to drive back from Dublin each day have to leave home at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. and do not return until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. People are extremely frustrated and tired at that stage of the evening.

I must really praise the work gardaí do and the way they talk to people. However, perhaps somebody up along the line will take heed of what I say this evening and look at the possibility of implementing what I have suggested on all the motorways in order that we are not hindering people who have been so good. People have been so good. The majority of them have suffered but they know that the Government must act. I will openly state that the biggest complaints I had from members of the public were about why a particular pub was open and allowed to break the law and why the house parties were not tackled. To a degree, I agree with the powers to some extent. We need, however, to give something back in understanding the general public who have been so good in terms of co-operating with Government in all this.

To conclude, I often use the phrase "Short-term pain, long-term gain". I am of the view that short-term pain will hopefully lead to long-term gain. If the Government adopts that strategy, then perhaps it needs to start saying to people that it will review the matter of the shooting season. I am not stating that it will decide to open it up but that it will review it and that it may consider extending it by a month into the new year. It is things like that which we must consider. We may, for example, consider allowing cattle buyers back into the rings because online trading does not suit everybody and does not suit older buyers in particular. The Government could, perhaps, say it will review that. We may review opening up golf or tennis in a week or two, not that too many people will play golf with the way the weather is at present. It is, however, all about giving a little.

While I do not like these measures, as a member of the Fianna Fáil party, I will obviously support them. Perhaps, giving a little bit back may not be a bad idea.