Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, raise the issue of the booster vaccine. Vulnerable people under the age of 50 were not prioritised quickly enough for the vaccine. I welcome that this is being addressed now. I call on the Leader to arrange for the Minister for Health to come to the House next week or the week after that to provide an update on the operational arrangements for the booster vaccine. There is much concern about it, especially when people hear it reported in the media that the Minister for Defence has offered the support of the Defence Forces. That is very welcome but it puts the fear of God into people to think the situation is so bad that we require the support of the Defence Forces to speed up vaccination. People deserve clarity, especially the 93% of the population who got their vaccine and those who would willingly and readily take a booster vaccine tomorrow morning.

The Cabinet announcement today, and the notion that all hospitality will close at 12 midnight, means nightclubs are being put out of business. It would be far more appropriate to say we want nightclubs to close and then to close them, as opposed to saying everything closes at 12 midnight. I do not know what the purpose of this measure is or why it was choreographed in that way. It would be far more upfront and honest if nightclubs and late-night bars were told they will have to close. We are trying get buy-in and bring people and industry with us. Nightclubs are one of the industries that has suffered most during the past 18 months. The messaging is important and critical but the type of messaging we had today is not fair, right or respectful. I would prefer to see it changed.

We have had massive buy-in from the industry, all sectors and stakeholders, members of the public and everybody else until now. I certainly do not want to see that lost. Like everybody else here, I am concerned that the numbers spiralled in the wrong direction over the weekend. This has to be addressed, but let us, in the manner in which we do that, be respectful of the sectors that have suffered most.