Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on being a year in the job. It has been my first year as an Oireachtas Member and he has been a great support. I found him to be fair and approachable at all times.

Moving on, the hospitality sector is again in crisis this morning. Regarding the proposals being considered by Cabinet, having been involved in the hospitality sector throughout my life, it certainly seems those of us in the sector are being scapegoated. We have been hammered since March 2020. It was proposed there would be full resumption of business next Monday. More than 40% of the population is fully vaccinated across the country. In excess of 70% of people have received their first vaccination. Now at this eleventh hour, NPHET thinks it is suitable to change the roadmap. There will always be a certain level of risk. The risk will not be zero for the foreseeable future. What we need to decide is where is our vaccination bonus. People need to take personal responsibility. We are asking the hospitality sector to police itself. What about all the staff in the sector? Where will they stand in this process? It is extremely difficult.We are talking about tens of thousands of jobs. Families throughout this country were decimated this morning. I say this without fear or favour. My phone has not stopped ringing in the past 24 hours. We need to show leadership, the Government needs to take control and we need to be realistic. There are significant concerns and questions. What we need this evening is a clear and precise message. We need to consider more than NPHET. We need to stand up, be strong and make a decision.