Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are all well aware of the reasons behind the extension this week and it has nothing to do with Northern Ireland. That means it is even more disingenuous to see the response from some of our politicians from Northern Ireland. I mention the chilling effect and the weakening of the support for the Good Friday Agreement. We are in a dangerous place. We should all be concerned and conscious that we need to get this resolved now. The actions of the Government of the United Kingdom are very unwelcome and we need to respond to them quickly.

Senator Martin read out some of a speech from one of his colleagues on Dublin City Council about a motion that it passed recently on the Syrian revolution. I thank him for bringing that to the attention of Members. We should probably have a debate on the fallout from the almost 3 million people who are displaced. It is two thirds of the population of our entire country so I cannot begin to imagine what they are going through.

Senator Keogan brought up her frustrations with the closure of the construction industry. I want to answer the question she directly asked me on why this is happening and if we think construction is a cause for concern. The response that came out after Christmas was that movement and interaction were a cause for the increase and flow of the virus.It was not any specific sector; it was every sector. That is why the entire country was put into lockdown in January. I know we are all tired and frustrated and we are probably going to start having conversations in the coming weeks and months about reopening society, once the vaccine programme steps up a gear. However, it is not helpful for us to be pitting one section of society against another. The most important section we needed to reopen was our schools. That started last Monday and I wish the the staff and the teachers in schools continued success to make sure we manage that safely.

I accept Senator Bacik's amendment to the Order of Business.

The regeneration of Dublin's inner city was raised by Senator Fitzpatrick. She is obviously incredibly proud of the area she has represented for many years. In fairness to her, the funding that was announced for the museum, the library and the entire quarter around Moore Street and Dublin's inner city this morning is exceptionally welcome. I welcome her passion for her area. It is something the entire nation will be able to enjoy once it is finished. We can all enjoy the splendour of the museum and remember our humble beginnings where it all started back in 1916.