Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for attending. There is a distinct feeling of déjà vuabout this afternoon's debate. It is another piece of the Governments Covid-19 legislation being driven through the House faster than a speeding bullet. Ironically, the speeding bullet is 12 months too late.

While I can understand the rationale behind expediting the legislative process in respect of an emergency Bill in a time of emergency, I cannot understand it in this instance. It is a grave disservice to this House to yet again deny us the time to scrutinise, debate and amend legislation, assuming the Government would even accept any amendments of merit. This undermines the very constitutional role of the House. The final draft of the Bill, as passed by the Dáil, was sent to me at 5.10 p.m. on Thursday last. This left one hour and 50 minutes to submit amendments. Today, the House has 75 minutes to consider all Stages. This legislation is a perfect example of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Is it not true that 90% of the cases that have been detected in this country are of the British variant? Yet, Britain is conspicuous in its absence from the list of countries covered by mandatory quarantine.

I find it staggering that the Government has radically curtailed the rights and freedoms of citizens with Garda-enforced 5 km and, at times, 2 km travel limits, yet international travel has continued without any meaningful restriction. How is this fair? How does this make sense? Surely, the Government should be introducing a mandatory quarantine on all non-essential travel into the country. Surely, this makes more sense than a somewhat arbitrary list of countries, mostly located in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, to be covered by mandatory quarantine.

I wish to make another point regarding the increased sanctions this Bill will impose an Irish people travelling overseas without a reasonable excuse. It is important to recognise that many people travel abroad from this country for extremely important reasons, for example, for the sake of their physical and mental health and well-being and for family reasons. People suffering from respiratory conditions and arthritis, for example, need to travel to warmer and drier climates for some relief. The people of Ireland have had the most restrictive Covid-19 measures in Europe placed upon them.