Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt that the past few months have been the most difficult that we have ever seen, with difficult political decisions that had to be made regarding Covid. They had to be made quickly while not knowing what was coming down the line but we had a sense of what had happened before and what we had seen in China and Italy. There was an effort to save our citizens and give everybody the best opportunity to be healthy. It was all difficult, particularly with regard to the Department of Health. We have to thank those who led us through the crisis and once again give our thanks to all those in medical professions on the front line, and of course those in our food shops and teaching in schools. We are anticipating announcements over the next 24 hours about where we will be in the next few weeks.It is a very difficult place to be for those in Cabinet making that decision and for those who are providing advice, particularly NPHET. I said it before and I say it again, while NPHET is giving great service to the country, it is risk averse. Its job is to give the worst possible scenario. Now more than ever, political decisions need to be made, absolutely based on NPHET's advice, but that must not be the sole voice in deciding where we go over the next few weeks. Now is when businesses should be at their busiest and they are still closed. All going well, they will hopefully be open next week and will remain open. Next week, we also hope to see the reopening of cinemas, hotels, gyms, etc., and, from what we hear, pubs and restaurants will open the following week.

Obviously, the speculation is that only gastropubs, with their own kitchens and chefs, will be allowed open. I think that is completely wrong. Many of our villages and small towns have no pubs with such facilities. There will be places where none of the hospitality industry will be open. People need to have the opportunity to socialise, albeit in a very limited way with family and friends in their community because they have really suffered over recent months. The suggestion of pubs possibly closing at 10 p.m. and restricting the number of occupants is fine. No house party could ever be as safe as being in a properly regulated environment. Previously, some pubs opened by bringing in pizzas, fish, burgers and chips. It is completely wrong that they would not be allowed to open because they do not have kitchen.s All pubs and restaurants should open with regulations and of course with restrictions. If young people cannot go to pubs, they will continue to go to house parties, which is to the detriment of us all. We need to bear in mind that a significant number of jobs are at risk.

It is really important that places of worship should open. By their nature, our churches and other places of worship are very large buildings and are ideally suited to maintaining social distancing. For many older people, going to Mass is part of the social structure of their lives. It is where they get to see friends and acquaintances and get to check in on one another, and particularly on vulnerable members of the community. The closure of these churches has left a gaping hole in their lives. At an online meeting involving the Taoiseach and Irish Church Together, all religious leaders committed to taking the necessary precautions.

In Ireland, our sense of family and community is one of the things that defines us. We must put our trust in people to behave responsibly. We need to allow them to live positive and meaningful lives as we continue to battle this virus. We know there is good news on the horizon in terms of the vaccines. It was wonderful to see Teresa Lambe from Kildare, a professor at Oxford, being interviewed about her input into one of these vaccines.

As we head towards Christmas, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to many people who have put in so much work over recent months. We also want to allow those people who have worked so hard to have some respite and the opportunity to spend a small amount of time to catch up with others.