Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House for this important debate. We appreciate his time as there are enormous demands on him and his Department. His Department is to be commended, along with NPHET and all of government, for the continuing efforts and outstanding commitment to helping our country tackle and survive this pandemic.

Before I say anything else, it is important to not lose sight of the thousands of people who have lost their lives, and the many thousands of their friends and families who have been bereaved, the many thousands who have been infected with this terrible virus, and all those who work on the front line - our nurses and doctors, but also our bus drivers, binmen, postal workers and gardaí. It has been tremendous the courage that all of those people have demonstrated, and their courage has encouraged all of us to do our best. I point to the Community Call response, co-ordinated by our local authorities and the GAA. In my own constituency of Dublin Central, Oliver Plunkett’s, Na Fianna and St. Finbar’s GAA clubs have all worked with Dublin City Council and volunteers. That has given people hope and confidence as well.

We have talked a lot today about mental health. I was talking to a GP recently in Glasnevin who, completely spontaneously, commented to me how he had never witnessed in his long career such elevated levels of anxiety among his patients. He specifically said it involved patients of all ages. He talked about how elderly people experienced the isolation of doing the right thing, of keeping their distance and of confining their movements to the home, the bare essentials and the absolutely necessary journeys. He spoke of the very young people and the parents of toddlers, pre-school and early school going children, and the fact that three-year-olds and four-year-olds know what the virus is. When there was a lifting of restrictions and they could potentially see their grandparents again, they were saying, "The virus must be gone. The flu must be gone." There are also the young adults.

Everybody is doing their best and we are all pulling together, and there is no doubt the Government and NPHET have been a huge support to us all. We have to recognise that the achievement of getting Ireland to having the second lowest level of infection is a tremendous achievement for us all - it is a huge achievement against such an insidious virus. As we look to the opening in the next month coming up to Christmas, the Government has big decisions to make to help guide us over this Christmas period. That is all the Government can do: it can really just guide us. We all have to wash our hands, keep our distance and wear our masks. The Government cannot come and police that, and I think it largely recognises that.

The Minister of State will be involved in the debates among the Cabinet. Who would want to be in their shoes, having to make these choices and issue the guidelines? We all want a Christmas and I am sure the members of Cabinet want a Christmas as much as anybody else.The main thing that people are saying is that they have all got into the habit of taking responsibility, so can the Oireachtas look at managed settings and places that people can go to and behave in a responsible manner? That includes churches, gyms and playing pitches. People have been allowed to train for juvenile sports but they should be allowed to recommence competitive matches.

One knows the good, real pubs in Dublin from seeing that they are professionally-run, with a professional barman and no bouncer or security at the door, because the barman knows his job and can smell trouble from outside the door and will not allow it in. He cannot see or smell the virus. These are mostly family-run pubs. They have been closed since March. I am thinking of families such as the O'Gara, Hughes, Hedigan, Kavanagh and Walsh families. These are Dublin families who have been left without anything. The people who are living in their communities want to have some access to socialising but do not want to resort to ordering kegs and taps to their home, as some irresponsible people are, and having pints, drinking along the canals and streets. That unregulated, unmanaged socialising has to be recognised and maybe we should trust the professionals.

I would appreciate if the Minister of State could refer in his response to how the health service is using all of the funds that have been provided and how that will look as we exit the lockdown. On tracking and tracing, on two occasions, I have had to be tested, not because I was infected, since I tested negative, but because of people I spent time with. I commend that service. It is a well-functioning, efficient service, between the scheduling of the appointment, texting and follow-up. I commend those involved in its provision.