Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his year in office. I know he was a very happy person this day last year. I was slightly less happy as it was the first day the Seanad was sitting that I was unable to participate in, but who was to know that I would be back within a year? It is good to be back. I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his year in office, which has been a very difficult year.

On the day that is in it, it would be remiss of me not to echo the sentiments and build on much of what has been said by Senator Crowe, a publican who knows far more about this than I do. I know many people in the restaurant trade and pub trade, especially the Dublin pub trade. So many of them have contacted me. I have been talking to them, seen stuff on Twitter and heard stuff on the radio. It is such a devastating day for them - another devastating day. Dublin pubs that do not serve food have been closed since 13 or 14 March last year, which is nearly 470 days at this stage. This is devastating for their financial existence but also for their mental health and their staff. While the proposals might be well intentioned in terms of allowing people to do things if they are vaccinated, I do not believe they are workable. I do not think the HSE has the spare resources after the cyberattack to set up a system. I do not think it is fair to ask publicans and their staff to police whether someone has been vaccinated. People who have not yet been vaccinated would feel very disgruntled.

We are the only country in Europe that does not allow indoor dining. We will let people fly to other countries to dine indoors but we are not letting people do it in our own country. We need to think about this very quickly and decide that we will try as much as possible to give people in the industry a break and trust they and the people going into these establishments know what they are doing; that they will maintain social distancing, wash their hands and wear their masks when they are not at their tables; and that there will be table service. It is such an important industry and the people involved in it are such hard-working members of our communities. We need to make sure this industry is given respect and to acknowledge all the work it has done. NPHET has a place and I welcome everything it has done but this is such an important industry. I ask the Government to consider seriously trying to reopen this industry safely as soon as possible but not to be divisive with vaccinated versus non-vaccinated people.