Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Taoiseach and the Government take on the unenviable task this week of further relaxing restrictions around Covid-19, it is imperative that consideration is given to the capacity of people to live with Covid for the coming weeks, while at the same time having some semblance of a Christmas experience. Retail, barbershops and hairdressers must open without delay. We also have to ensure restaurants and pubs get an opportunity to provide their services in a safe and efficient way over the coming weeks. It is clear that the economy has been dealt a huge blow by Covid-19 but we have to start reopening it to allow people to have some sense of a Christmas experience. I hope the Government will take that into consideration.

There has also been an effort over recent weeks and months to divide society when it comes to people's capacity to respond and adhere to the rules and guidance during this pandemic. We should be closing gates rather than opening them and the sooner we get the RTÉ gate closed, the better for everyone. These are professional, hard-working people who are doing their jobs. They made mistakes. There is a context to this and in my humble opinion, a relatively minor mistake was made. They have apologised and they are being held to account. While I do not want to comment on any Garda investigation, and the Garda has to respond to reports and complaints when they are made, anyone who thinks it is good use of Garda time to be hanging around Montrose wondering who sent out an email and whether it complied with the strict letter of the guidelines has a fundamental misunderstanding of how this State is policed.