Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a great day and we have a lot to celebrate, but it is a day when we should be aiming to achieve more and set the standards to create a society where everybody is included.

As Senator Clifford-Lee and other speakers have said, we do not want to be here bringing this legislation through the House. It is the last thing in the world any Minister or any of us as Oireachtas Members want to do but, unfortunately, it is necessary in order to protect the public health of the citizens of this country. Mandatory hotel quarantine is an extreme measure, but it is required when people come from certain countries. I hope the legislation will pass. I think it will get cross-party support in this House, as it did in the Dáil yesterday. The debate in the Dáil was a very good one. Lessons have been learned from our previous experience with mandatory hotel quarantine and that is reflected in this legislation. Like most countries, Ireland is facing an enormous battle; it is a war against Covid-19. There are many variants. Some fizzle out and others, unfortunately, become a threat. The biggest threat is not the new variant; it is the Delta variant, which is circulating in the community. Delta is rampant in our communities at the moment. The basic messages that were articulated from the start of this pandemic are as relevant today as they were then. I refer to the public health advice on social distancing, reducing contacts, washing hands, ensuring that, where possible, windows are left open, common sense, doing the right thing and being careful. It is amazing how we can reduce the spread of Covid-19 by doing all of that.

Covid-19 is spread through human contact, people being close and congregating in areas, etc. If everyone of us chose to do one or two extra things in order to be more careful, it would be incredible in terms of the immediate reduction in the number of cases. I am confident that over the next few days we will see a reduction in case numbers because people are being careful, are following the public health advice and are making an extra effort. It is terrible that in the run-up to Christmas this year we yet again find ourselves in the situation of having to do that. Every bit of effort made by people reduces the number of those who contract the virus, which reduces the numbers in hospital and ICUs and, ultimately, the number of families who will suffer a bereavement because of Covid-19. That is what we need to think about. When we are careful when out and about, when we wear our masks and we do what we should be doing, those actions save lives and reduce the number of people who are grieving.

I look forward to the remainder of this debate. Concern was raised by various groups with regard to this legislation. The Minister has taken on board those concerns. The past two years of my ten years in the Oireachtas have been the most difficult in terms of this type of legislation, but it is necessary because its aim is to save lives.