Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join all my colleagues in saying how upset and annoyed I was with what happened outside the Minister's home. A member of my family brought the matter to my attention and I watched the video. It is shocking. It is good to hear all sides stating we totally condemn it. I experienced this a few years ago as a Deputy. It was not as bad as this. It should not be happening anywhere. I know the Minister is a strong man but we very much think of his family in this situation. It should not be happening to any politician.

I agree with much of what Senator Carrigy said. Due to the fact that so many hotels and restaurants have contacted me about cancellations, I made the point on the Order of Business earlier that most of society is open. It is not open in the normal way, and we all accept this, but we are not living in normal times. There is no need for people not to go out and have a family meal or a meal with their friends as long as they adhere to what they are supposed to do. There is no need to call off everything. Most places have called off the big Christmas parties. The reality is that we are dealing with Covid.

With regard to the mixed messages, we cannot but have mixed messages with Covid. That is due to the way it changes from week to week. We were making progress, and now we have a new variant. We are not sure about where we will be with it for a few weeks. It is a new threat. The message changed. It is not the Minister, the Government or the medical people; it is just the way Covid has shaken us all. It has really turned the world upside down, whether we are speaking about business or politicians. It has changed everything - all aspects of life. We have to deal with it. The Minister is doing his best, as is the Government, to keep people safe. This has to be the bottom line. Of course, we will have hiccoughs with new situations with masks, and I heard a discussion on this not too long ago. There will be little issues but they will be sorted out.

I know the Opposition has a job to do, but I remember some Opposition politicians stating six months ago that the roll-out of the vaccine was a disaster. It turned out that Ireland ended up best in the world. The Minister kept his head down, as did the officials, and kept working on it. It is the same with the booster vaccinations. I will get my booster vaccine in the coming days. The pharmacists and doctors are at it. Last Friday, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was in Roscommon. The centre is in Kilbride in County Roscommon. The Minister has also been there and the staff appreciated his visit.

These are unusual times and difficult circumstances. It is causing turmoil throughout the world. We have very little control over it. Society is managing to function but it is functioning in a different way.It is in everybody's interest to keep our schools open, but I am convinced that, with the good work of the principals, teachers and parents, the little hiccups that exist will be sorted in the coming days and all will be okay. The Minister is correct that any child who is uncomfortable with a mask will not have to wear it. That is fair enough. All the relevant considerations, such as those concerning children with a disability, are taken into account.

There is a challenge facing the hospitality and entertainment sector. It is appreciated that the Government has looked after it pretty well to date, but it is now facing something of a crisis. I am sure the Government will consider extending schemes and reassessing circumstances to ensure the livelihoods of those in question are not affected. One hotel told me it has had 75 cancellations. It was so joyful when there was a return to some sort of normal opening. Staff had to be retrained because some had been lost. Now the sector faces this all over again. Therefore, I appreciate the challenge.

We will have differences of opinion but politicians, the media and others should all be united in fighting this pandemic. It is a global threat. It is important, now more than ever, to have unity of purpose. Of course we will all have questions and disagree on points but we should remember that if we are to defeat this virus, we must be unified nationally and globally.