Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am in the House today to introduce a resolution to extend the sunset clause of Part 2 of the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021. The Act is due to expire on 9 October. The sunset clause of Part 2 provides that each House of the Oireachtas may, on or before 9 October, pass a resolution to continue Part 2 in operation for a period not exceeding three months.

For the purpose of giving the House some background on this, Part 2 of the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021 provides for the reopening of indoor hospitality under certain conditions. The Act was passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas last July and gave effect to the Government's decision taken then that provided for indoor hospitality premises to reopen to persons who are fully vaccinated and persons who are immune from Covid-19 on the basis that they have recovered from Covid-19, as well as certain children and staff. The decision was made in line with the public health advice. Ultimately, the Government's decision made it possible to get pubs, cafés, restaurants and other licensed premises reopened for business in a safe and sustainable manner. This Act and associated regulations were of vital importance in ensuring that hospitality businesses could reopen safely and begin to recover from a very difficult period of closure. It occurred against the backdrop of the Delta variant. In a lot of ways, this last period, coinciding with the introduction and subsequent dominance of the Delta variant, has been the most demanding on us as a people. Our resilience has been tested by the variant's virulence. This variant of concern has continued to circulate extensively, especially among people who either have not yet been vaccinated or are not yet fully protected by vaccination.

From the outset, the Government has been guided by the public health advice provided by the National Public Health Emergency Team as to what restrictions might be necessary to manage or suppress the disease. Along the way, extraordinary measures have been introduced to protect public health and the most vulnerable in our society. These were difficult and challenging decisions in a crisis scenario, with an evolving understanding of the disease, its impact, how best to manage the situation, what vaccines might offer and what variants might do to undermine our plans.

The decision to require proof of vaccination or recovery to access indoor hospitality arose in the context of advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, on 28 June last. That advice was that indoor activities expected to reopen on 5 July "which, by their nature are high risk activities involving significant levels of social mixing in indoor environments, should only be permitted for those who have been fully protected by vaccination or who have had Covid-19 infection in the previous nine months". NPHET advised that easing of these measures should proceed only when supported by a robust, non-reproducible and enforceable system of verification of vaccination or immunity status. The Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021 embodies this system of verification.

This House has already recognised the intrinsic value of the measures in the Act in order, on the one hand, to get indoor hospitality businesses open and, on the other, to protect public health from a variant that continues to be dangerous, unpredictable and virulent. The measures in the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021 balance both these requirements and have enabled and permitted indoor hospitality premises to continue trading while maximising the opportunity to protect public health.

This is about maintaining an equilibrium between the social, economic and public health interests of the State. Ireland has endured a profound shock to its social and economic life as we have dealt with the impact of this disease at an individual, community and societal level. It has had an impact on almost all aspects of our lives and, for many, their livelihoods. It is in this context that the Government agreed Ireland's next plan in its response to Covid-19, entitled Reframing the Challenge: Continuing Our Recovery and Reconnecting. This recognised that Covid-19 has had a global impact, sending shockwaves around the world, with its effects felt in every section of Irish society. Reframing the Challenge declares that if it is not possible to eliminate Covid-19 completely, we need to move to manage Covid-19 in a more "mainstream" way rather than as an exceptional threat requiring society-defining interventions and actions which are increasingly burdensome and scarring on our economy, society, health and well-being. We must manage the burden of Covid-19 on the basis that it will likely continue to be constantly present into the foreseeable future.

This House will know that extraordinary measures have been introduced to protect public health and the most vulnerable in our society. These were difficult and challenging decisions in a crisis scenario, with an evolving understanding of the disease, its impact and how best to manage it. Our plan provides that the public health management of Covid-19 should transition, in broad terms, from a focus on regulation and population-wide restrictions to a focus on public health advice and personal judgment and personal protective behaviours, subject to certain criteria.

Reframing the Challenge includes a series of planned measures, such as the transitioning of the public health response and interim arrangements pending transition. The Government decided to remove further statutory restrictions in respect of events and activities from 22 October next based on criteria which include the achievement of at or close to 90% of people aged 16 or over being fully vaccinated. In effect, the statutory regime in place to support the protection of public health is to be largely wound down in line with the agreed removal of restrictions. For indoor hospitality, the Government's plan specifies, "No further changes are proposed to the current arrangements in respect of the hospitality sector until the final transition point is reached".

I am mindful of the precariousness of this virus. The Chief Medical Officer has advised that the future trajectory of the disease cannot be predicted with certainty. As a result, a response to this disease that is agile and flexible, with an ability to pivot rapidly and respond to any emerging threat, needs to be ensured. The Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021 is a key part of that response should the potential for one arise in the future and, while unlikely, it cannot be fully ruled out because of the uncertainty of the future trajectory of the virus, given how novel it is. I assure the House that existing regulations under the Act will be revoked with effect from 22 October, pending a Government decision, in line with the Government's plan for this phase of Covid-19.However, the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021 is being proposed for continuance for a period of three months, without any regulations being imposed providing for restrictions on the indoor hospitality sector. The continuance in operation of the Act is solely to align with the public health advice that the possibility of the reintroduction of any given measure cannot be fully ruled out in order to enable us to respond to the disease and the challenges its transmission might pose for us. We must continue to ensure our response is agile and flexible, with an ability to pivot rapidly and respond to any emerging threat that might arise.

It is in this context that this resolution to extend the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021 is being presented to the House. The continuance in operation of the Act maintains the potential and flexibility to respond to an emerging Covid threat that could jeopardise public health and safety were it to go unchecked. The Government, while working to reframe the challenge and reopen society, must act cautiously and prudently to ensure the most vulnerable continue to be protected to the best of our ability, should the need arise, from this unpredictable and virulent disease.

In summary, the measures for indoor hospitality are due to expire on 22 October. I cannot pre-empt a Government decision before that date. The current trajectory is encouraging and, because of the policy measures taken previously, we are broadly aligned to the optimistic scenario of the four we were presented with, as was the policy intent. I cannot predict what will happen between now and 22 October but progress to date is steady and stable and we are tracking the best scenario we were presented with. If all were to go to plan, from 22 October all restrictions for indoor hospitality would be removed. The current Act and timing would remove the ability for those to be in place earlier, I believe from 9 October, which is in the next few days. There was broad agreement that we would extend at least to 22 October. I seek the House's agreement that we extend the legislative framework for about 11 weeks, to 9 January. The restrictions will not be in place but if things were to change rapidly, it means we could move rapidly in terms of putting the restrictions in place. The restrictions are not broad, sweeping societal ones. They apply specifically to indoor hospitality. It is just those restrictions and speed could be of the essence.

The week before last Christmas, on a Friday evening, the UK Government sent out an international signal about the Alpha variant. We met all through the weekend and on Monday and Tuesday made some serious decisions. That is how quickly this can move and how quickly we need to be able to respond. Some have suggested letting the legislation expire or extending the sunset clause to 22 October and then letting it expire and if we need more ability to respond, we can re-legislate. While that is a reasonable position, there is no way we could have done that last December. There is no way that could occur between a Friday and Monday, in terms of seeing something serious, making the decisions and going through a legislative process. I hope it will never be used. On the current trajectory, it would not be used, but as we know from last December, things can move with this disease very quickly. The ask is to extend it for about 11 weeks past the end of October as a safety net that we hope we will not have to use.