Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today is 23 November. It is almost exactly one month to Christmas. I know that we all want to look forward to Christmas but all of the media talk and speculation is about lockdowns, shutdowns and circuit breakers. It is three weeks since I contributed to the Order of Business because I was also hit with Covid-19. Everybody is very alert to the infection rates and we are all frightened. We have all been there and nobody wants to go back to the lockdowns.

I do not believe that a lockdown is inevitable. I listened to Dr. Tony Holohan. He clearly stated that nobody has yet been infected, has been hospitalised or has, sadly, died in December. With 80% of the population vaccinated and with more than 7.8 million vaccines administered, with the booster campaign already delivered to the most vulnerable who we are protecting, and with the Covid-19 certificate being more widely used and accepted, a lockdown is not inevitable. We certainly have to increase, however, the public’s ability to conduct their own screening such as people who are not symptomatic but who are engaged in education, entertainment, retail, in public transportation, all of whom are considered now to be high-risk activities which we need to recognise.

The Government and the Cabinet are meeting this week and are considering all of the actions they can take to support businesses, the entertainment and hospitality sectors and all other sectors.I urge the Leader to urge the Government to make antigen tests free and freely available instead of €5 a test. We want people to screen themselves two or three times a week, which is what people need to do when they are not symptomatic, to ensure they are safe and engaging in safe activities. We need the Government to make antigen tests free. I ask the Leader to write to the Taoiseach and the Cabinet subcommittee on Covid and urge them to make this tool available to the general public, who are reducing their contacts and increasing their social distancing. They are doing everything they can to avoid a lockdown.