Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Members for their contributions and ideas, and their appreciation of the massive national effort. All Members of the Oireachtas owe a debt of gratitude to workers throughout the country for the phenomenal work that has been done.

Many very important topics were covered and I will not be able to deal with all of them in the time available, so I will respond to those that were raised most often. First, to respond to the last speaker, God almighty, I hope our best days are not behind all of us, although perhaps they are. What happened over the weekend in the three cities is more a facet of urban living than of rural living. It is a reflection of many different things. People have been cooped up for a long time and it has been a brutal year for many. I do not subscribe to the idea that it has been harder for one generation than for others. Yes, younger people have had a brutal time. At a time when they should be out socialising they are not. Plenty of older people have had a brutal time as well and have been in fear of their lives every day.

Ireland's success in dealing with Covid and the vaccinations and in suppressing the virus has been due to collective action and collective responsibility. We would not have been able to suppress the virus the way we have done without collective action; we would not be in our current position in terms of reopening without collective action. This has been a national effort. Every town, county and community has worked to support and mind each other and to help each other to get through this. The Government, local authorities and city councils, community groups and individuals have a role. There is individual and collective responsibility. We all understand the reason for what happened over the weekend. The apparatus of the State must do everything possible to facilitate safe outdoor social interaction. That is the message. At the same time, individuals must continue to take individual responsibility for their actions. People have done that and continue to do it, regardless of whether they are 22 years old or 82 years old. That is what we have done. We will get through this by means of the apparatus of the State doing what it can, which it must do, and people following the guidelines.

We are not out of the woods yet. The concerns that have been raised with me are driven by one thing, a concern for the people who were seen outdoors. This virus is highly contagious. We are dealing with an Indian variant that is even more contagious. Even for younger people who are more resilient to this disease and who have not been vaccinated, there is very sobering evidence regarding long Covid and serious health impacts for people regardless of their age. Any expressions from the Department of Health have been driven by concern for the people involved. That is my view on this. We have reached our current position through collective action and solidarity. When I spoke to Dr. Michael Ryan of the WHO some time ago, he said that Ireland stands out globally in terms of the united national approach we have taken to this. That is it. We just have to continue minding each other. It is not a problem if people are meeting up outside. It is good if people are meeting outdoors, but we must watch how we do it. The apparatus of the State must facilitate that in every way it can. Then we are relying on individuals, groups and families to do what is sensible for a little longer. That is my opinion on it.

Will we reduce the interval between AstraZeneca doses? The current advice we have is not to do so. It was brought up to 16 weeks and it is back to 12 weeks. There are no plans at present to decrease it any further. That is partly because one facet of getting all the vaccines administered as soon as they arrive is that the second doses are committed.

I am running out of time.