Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House to speak to this very important motion. I welcome the Government's decision to sign up to the European Union's digital Covid certificate. The vast majority of us welcome the return of international travel with a caveat. There is a lot of hypocrisy on the part of members of the media and members of the Opposition who had a silver bullet in their arsenal in January and February, and all of a sudden they have changed tack again. That is the joy of being in opposition. To be fair to the Minister, he has a job in the Government to be responsible and to take action, which he does.

The robustness of the mandatory hotel quarantine system is evidenced by the figures of the variants and by the numbers of people who have tested positive. We know of the case in Melbourne involving one person who tested negative then traversed across the city. I listened to Professor Luke O'Neill on Newstalk this morning, and I was aghast at the number of people infected or contaminated, whichever word one wants to use, by one person in a short period. The individual in question had been in mandatory hotel quarantine.

The easing of measures relating to hotel quarantine is absolutely necessary from an international aviation perspective. This has been debated for a long time by the transport committee. The relaxation for European member states is to be welcomed. Many of us had hoped that the common travel would be the pilot test but given what is happening with the Indian variant in the UK, I understand where we are going with that.

Professor Mark Ferguson was before the committee to discuss the use of antigen testing. We have heard previous speakers refer to antigen testing. I am aware that Dr. Holohan, in his capacity as Chief Medical Officer, wrote to the Minister for Health. We need to have a real debate about PCR testing versus antigen testing so that we can give confidence to people that if we use the model of antigen testing, it will be robust and that it will reveal proper results, which I believe it will.

The decision last Friday signified for many people a return to some type of normality for Ireland, as an island nation. Given that we are hugely in need of connectivity, we need to have an absolutely urgent reintroduction of the aviation task force with a view to recovery for our aviation sector. I am aware that the Government has made decisions, but our travel sector, including those who work as travel agents and in hospitality, the pilots, airline staff, and the ground staff in Dublin, Cork and Shannon, have been severely and profoundly affected. In the context of the pandemic, the industry has taken a gargantuan hit. If one spoke last week to the men and women who were, in a very dignified manner, protesting here or at the convention centre, one could not but be impressed by their sincerity and professionalism, as they balanced their real need with the public health considerations. It was not just populism. It was a real and honest cry for help. I met with staff from Cork Airport and with the other staff who protested here in Dublin last week to discuss the need for the Government to do more for the aviation sector.

I will not speak on the vaccination programme, but I commend all involved. I ask that the Minister would look up and follow up on the vaccination centre at the Munster Technological University, formerly the Cork Institute of Technology. I would like to get an update on that. I believe it is one centre that could be used continually in the fight against Covid-19.

All of us recognise that we have come on a journey. Dr. Colm Henry used the phrase "V-Day" when describing scenes from last weekend. We all know it is not a victory day and that we all need to keep our collective guard up. I commend the Minister on his work and his sincerity.