Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Similar to the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, the Minister of State has given a personally generous answer, which I thank him for, but the statement he has delivered on behalf of the Government is typical of the evasion on this issue. The Minister of State has said that based on the current epidemiological situation, it will be necessary to celebrate Easter online and at home. He then went on to say what ministers of religion can do to celebrate funerals and so on.

The Government is continuing in misdirection by not answering the question I asked as to whether the ban the Minister of State has promulgated is legal. If the Minister of State gave this answer to a child in preschool or an elderly person in a nursing home, he would be accused of oppressive care, because he is not respecting people's intelligence by giving them a straight answer.

The recent High Court ruling on Ryanair DAC v. An Taoiseach & Ors, Mr. Justice Garrett Simons said the Executive branch of Government would not be entitled to short circuit the statutory regime put in place by the legislative branch by creating the false impression that legally enforceable restrictions were in effect. That is the nub of the problem. It is a disgraceful situation.

Services resumed in Northern Ireland today. Last Wednesday, a ban on church services was struck down by the courts in Scotland on the basis it was disproportionate and the supreme court in Chile has struck down a similar ban. However, the Government is persistent in representing to people there is a legally enforceable ban in place when it will not even give people a straight answer as to whether this is legally enforceable.This is not the way to operate in a democratic society.