Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Keogan. I just came in from the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. It is a harrowing story. I had seen it online. It is so tragic. If anything can come out of it, it is that people might try to be that bit kinder to each other and try not to engage in this activity. It is horrific. Perhaps they do not appreciate what they are doing but they are really doing enormous harm.

I rise today in relation to the final reopening of hospitality - the reopening of the late-night entertainment sector after 585 or 586 days at this stage. It has been an enormously long time. The previous Seanad was still sitting when the lockdown was introduced in March of last year. At the time, we did not know what was coming. It was all very new. I want to wish everyone who works in or is involved with the hospitality industry, including those who avail of late bars and nightclubs, particularly young people but also those young at heart who are maybe not as young, all the very best. I encourage everybody to do their best to try and stick to whatever guidelines are there. We all want to open up in a reasonable way but we are cognisant that this week there are many more people in hospital than last week and many more people in ICU than last week. This House should send a message to everyone in that industry that it is valuable and important and we appreciate the work they do. I wish all of those who have turned 18 and will be able to go to these places for the first time, with their legal-age ID card as proof of the fact, many evenings of enjoyment. They have never been there before. I hope they stay safe and they mind each other.