Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to the House. This is important legislation. I acknowledge Senator Higgins's concerns, which are fair, on the length of debate. They should be taken on board. I am glad to see a sunset clause in the legislation for three months' time. I am sure we will find ample opportunity to address those concerns at that point. It should provide the House with a greater opportunity to explore how the legislation is working, whether there are human rights concerns, whether it is being operated effectively and whether we are managing things as we should be.

There is no doubt that the public has demanded and wants this legislation. I am glad to see it coming before the House. I am also glad we took time, as a Government, to think about the impact of it. It has been acknowledged by a number of Ministers and those in the Opposition that what has been proposed is quite draconian. These are significant restrictions on people entering our country. A two-week quarantine is no joke. It is a considerable length of time to be detained at a facility, potentially against one's will. However, it is being done in the interest of public health and to protect the public. It is the balance we are trying to strike.

The three-month sunset clause is quite short. I think it is to acknowledge the concerns people have. I have said a number of occasions in this Chamber that the restrictions we have placed on citizens over the past year and the additional restrictions we are placing on citizens coming back and people who are not citizens were decisions which were not entered into lightly. These are significant restrictions on people's civil liberty and that must be acknowledged.

We are fortunate to be in a functioning democracy where parliamentary oversight is operational. We have an opportunity to have our say on this legislation. However, it is always worth remembering that democracy is fragile. We must protect it and acknowledge that it is valuable. It is always important to have a break in these types of laws so that we have an opportunity to assess how they are going. We should not assume unrest arises elsewhere and does not happen here. It can happen here and it happened at the weekend. It was quite minor but it gives a taste of what can happen when things get out of hand.

Questions will be asked in the coming weeks about the facility, about how it is operating and about the kinds of services people have access to in terms of food and ventilation, which Senator Higgins raised. People will have concerns but, as a Government, we have been quite good in being forthcoming in answering questions on the pandemic and I am sure this will be no different.

I have previously expressed concern about the workload on the Minister's Department, not just on him as the lead Minister but on his team and officials. It is a huge amount of work. I have previously questioned why this is being brought in under the Department of Health. It looks, walks and talks like a justice Bill and it should have been brought in under the Department of Justice. We are talking about detention, criminality and criminal offences. It sounds as though it should be a justice Bill.

I am not sure we will get any answers to that. I understand it is part of the Cabinet discussions and I am sure there was good reason for it. However, the Minister is only one person. There is a limit to what one person can deal with on an ongoing basis. It seems a huge additional workload on top of being the Minister for Health, Covid-19, vaccines and everything in between. To put quarantining on top of that workload is a huge burden, not just on the Minister but on the team and the Department. The Minister is as entitled as any member of Government to get some sleep and have a day off but I am sure he has not had a day off since he took up this brief.

The incredible level of work the Minister is putting into his job must be acknowledged. Few sitting around the Cabinet table are putting in the hours he is putting into the job and that must be acknowledged. We are quick to lay blame when mistakes are made but Members of this House or of the Dáil are human. There is a limit to what one person can do and can take. Many Members of both Houses have not acknowledged the level of work placed on the Department of Health, at what is probably the most difficult time in its history.There is much work there. That should be acknowledged and the Minister and his team should be commend on all the work they are doing.

I welcome the legislation which has been led by the public who want it. However, as a Government, we will have to be on hand and ready to answer any questions that may arise in the coming weeks. I look forward to the continuing debate on this legislation in three months' time when we will have an opportunity to assess how it is all working.