Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Ward's proposal.

We are expecting a major protest in Cork tomorrow. This is a big issue that could, but hopefully will not, affect many people in Cork in the next 48 hours. There is great fear in the city about what is going to happen. We saw in the media what happened in Dublin last weekend, where there were 23 arrests and several gardaí were hospitalised. There is a great fear that something similar will happen in the southern capital of Cork tomorrow.It is a real concern that people may be protesting on the streets of Cork while numbers are so drastically low in Cork at the moment. The approach being taken has really changed. We have very low figures in Cork city and county and that is because of the good work of people who have been following the guidelines. As they have followed the guidelines, we have managed to reduce the amount of Covid in the community, which is a very positive step. To be faced with a protest at which people without masks will meet on St. Patrick's Street and walk through the city centre tomorrow afternoon is a real concern. The protest needs to be abandoned. To have it in an area in which the rate of Covid is so low actually puts the health of the entire population of the city and county at risk. It is a significant issue for the House and for Ireland, but particularly for the people of Cork.

The Seanad needs to propose today that the protest be abandoned. It must not go ahead. It is against fundamental laws of the State and it is an affront to the front-line workers who put their lives at risk, such as the members of An Garda Síochána whom I met this morning on the way up from Cork. Those front-line workers meet people day in, day out. They are doing a great job. For a few people to hold such a protest in the southern capital is a slap in the face for the front-line workers. I am appealing for the protest not to go ahead. I hope the Leader will follow my lead and call for the abandonment of the protest in Cork tomorrow. The damage it will do to the health of society is unknown and the knock-on effect it could have on our entire society cannot be justified.