Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully endorse the comments of Senator Ó Donnghaile regarding the disappointment we all feel in respect of the appalling death of Pat Finucane. The Senator is correct. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and both Houses of the Oireachtas have been snubbed by the British authorities. I do not want to go into all this again, but there is clear evidence of the collusion that went on. It is appalling that, even at this late stage, the British authorities will not own up and give in to this public inquiry. It is really sad for us all. I am sure the Government will again take up the baton and fight hard to get this inquiry. I will raise this matter at our parliamentary party meeting later.

I turn to Covid-19 because, in many respects, this is a good day. The retail sector has got up and running. We look forward to Friday, when restaurants, hotels and other services will reopen. Walking from my hotel to Kildare Street earlier, I was keeping an eye on the trains as they travelled through the city. I have to say "Fair play" to the public. While quite a number of people were on the trains, or as many as are allowed at the moment, I did not see anybody without a mask. The people are really coming to terms with the message that we must wear masks. All of us have to understand that the Government had to do a little bit of tightrope walking, both by taking on board what the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, recommended, which is very important, and by seeking some type of meaningful Christmas, although we all know it will not be the same as usual. Older people I have spoken to in recent days have said they have arranged with their family that one wing of the family will visit on Christmas Day and another on St. Stephen's Day, and they have worked that out. We all have to do things differently because of where we are at the moment.

I compliment the people, who are treating this terrible pandemic in what is probably a more serious way than they had previously. I do not say that lightly. Perhaps how we viewed the pandemic in the first four months is different from how we view it now. We all thought it would be a passing storm but now we know it is not. Even with vaccination, it will still be some time before we end up getting the virus under control, but we are moving in the right direction. I firmly believe, and I am sure the Leader will refer to this in her response, that if we wear masks, wash our hands, observe social distancing, we can keep down the numbers. I appeal to everyone, including all Senators, that we do what we are asked to do, have a Christmas and, at the same time, try to keep the numbers low.