Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I wish to underline the independent nature of the members of the Independent group to say that there is no unanimity among them, as is obvious already.

I fully accept that we are in an emergency and that emergency measures have to be taken. I am one of these people who rejects completely the suggestion of a two-tier society. In my view, the responsible thing to do is to become vaccinated. Maybe there are some people who, for some reason, fear a vaccination or have some hesitation about vaccination but that is their problem, so to speak. For the great majority of people, to keep one's workmates, family members, elderly relatives and those whom one deals with in day-to-day life safe, the responsible thing to do is to be vaccinated. I have no problem with saying that for some things - like going into a crowded nightclub, pub or restaurant where ventilation, however it is going to be done, in winter months is going to be limited - there is nothing wrong with requiring people to prove that they have been vaccinated. It is their choice to stay at home, if they so want. If they want to go into a restaurant, which is higher risk, then in my view they just have to take the consequence of their own decision not to be vaccinated.

It is just as well that Senator Gavan spoke before me because he might have been embarrassed to have to say that he would agree with everything that I am about to say. It is a little bit the other way around. I agree with him completely about one fundamental issue, and this is the reason that I am going to vote against the Minister's resolutions. Simply, what is being done in these Houses is wrong. We had a temporary Covid committee, under the chairmanship of Deputy McNamara. It was in a position week on week, if people turned up to it and were willing to turn up to it, to give constant scrutiny to examine the trends over a week, and to examine the reasonableness of one measure rather than another. The permanent Government of Ireland, and I have presided over a Department that is part of the permanent Government of Ireland, found it inconvenient that there should be such a forum of parliamentarians to which it would be responsible. I accept the need for emergency legislation but in an emergency, what about Leinster House? Can we not adapt our arrangements to establish a committee, which the Minister must come into it every week-----