Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his words, which are much appreciated. It is a busy day and we welcome his first trip to the real Seanad. I also welcome our former colleague and good friend, the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, who will ably represent him.

It is important to start, as I like to do, on a positive note. I am a great proponent of positive politics. The Seanad espouses positive politics more than our colleagues in the other House. Yesterday's news that Pfizer has made progress on the vaccine is very, very welcome. I have spoken to some pharmaceutical companies recently and they were excited at the prospect of a vaccine. It is not only Pfizer. The work being done in Cambridge is also very welcome. The signs are good. The best scientists and medical experts and researchers in the world are working on this. It will be ground breaking, will save lives and it cannot come soon enough. We are dealing with a pandemic, the like of which has not been seen in 100 years, which requires an unprecedented Government and community response. International comparisons, especially in Europe, show that we are at the top of how we have dealt with the pandemic. We have contained the numbers of positive cases and limited the numbers of people who have lost lives. It is always appropriate that we acknowledge those people and offer our sympathies and condolences to their families. Sadly, the figures speak for themselves when we compare the delivery of our pandemic response with the six counties in the North. As a Government and as a community we can be very happy with the response. It is not something one can be proud of because even one person who contracts the virus or one person dying with it is one too many. We have not got everything right, that is for sure, but we have got more things right than many other countries. We took it seriously compared to other countries. I spoke recently spoke to a friend who lives in Brussels and it seemed the lackadaisical approach to face masks, to the practising of social distancing and to the virus generally there was in stark contrast to the seriousness with which it has been taken here.

I wish to speak about the community response. Yes, there frustration and fatigue and, yes, it is a challenge and keeping focus is not easy but the figures in the past week show that when we reassert ourselves we can deliver spectacular results. The drop in new cases to under 300 yesterday compared to 1,200 daily two weeks ago speaks for itself. I agree with others that when we move into 2021 and we wait for the roll out of a vaccine, we will have to keep the living with Covid plan under review. Where it needs to be tweaked, we should not be afraid to do so, but when it is right and the plan is correct we should not be afraid to defend it.However, when it is right, and what is proposed and being done within the plan is correct, we should not be afraid to defend it either. Regardless of whether we like it, in this country, as in every other country, there are Covid deniers, and those people must be confronted.

The strategy we are using now has proven to be effective and to work. While one can argue about certain elements that might appear to be unfair, and possibly are unfair, one cannot turn the ship around mid-stream. We are three weeks into a six-week campaign at level 5 and I believe we must stay focused and not make any alterations. At the end of the six weeks, we should conduct a calm, reflective and mature review of the elements of level 5 that we can tweak in the future. Perhaps the Minister would give us his analysis of the vaccine and how well the country is prepared to take advantage of it when it is available. People would be interested in that. Again, we are talking about being positive and giving people hope. That would very much give people hope.

There are people who are suffering more than others as a result of the country being at level 5. Our hearts go out to the people who are unemployed and living on the pandemic unemployment payment. That is why we all must do what is required of us to ensure those people get back to work as soon as possible. Sadly, where getting back to work is not possible when we move out of level 5 because businesses have gone out of business, we must ensure that opportunities are provided through education, redeployment and re-employment. As regards the elderly, the narrative on cocooning that took place last April and May has changed, which is welcome. However, the winter months create their own dynamic, and it is important that supports can be put in place to give practical assistance to them. In the case of people with disabilities, who are mobility impaired at the best of times, whatever supports can be provided to make life a little easier should be provided. I remind citizens that some people have difficulty with social distancing, particularly blind and visually impaired people, and people should bear with them and show understanding. Due to their judgment of space they can sometimes get it wrong. It is not intentional so I call for a little patience and understanding.

I would like to have a discussion some day in the House with the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, about his role in dealing with addiction, particularly addiction to drugs. He has hit the ground running and people in the non-governmental organisation, NGO, sector are extremely impressed by the manner in which he has taken on the portfolio. Perhaps we will have him in the House in the not too distant future for a debate on that issue.