Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I will take up some of the comments regarding masks in schools, with the exception of those with special health requirements. I heard a commentator compare masks in school to a form of child abuse. This is absolutely ridiculous and scandalous. It is an insult to anybody who has, unfortunately, suffered a form of child abuse. Masks are an inconvenience. They are a bit of a pain. That is it. That is as much as they are unless people have a medical condition. Most children will have no issue. They will see them as what grown-ups do, wear and have and they will probably enjoy it. In many cases it is parents who have a problem.

Omicron is the new threat. It is here and time is needed to assess its impact on the country and everywhere else. We need to continue to take a cautious approach to everything we do. The Bill gives powers to act if needed if the situation becomes much more serious throughout the world and the European Union. It provides for mandatory hotel quarantining. On the previous occasion we had hotel quarantining, many more countries were included, including some EU countries. It led to many challenges for public representatives as people contacted us seeking exemptions for specific cases and emergency cases, such as circumstances in which people needed to come home to attend the funeral of a loved one. There were many court challenges. No legislation or situation is perfect in terms of how it operates or can be enforced. It is important that exemptions are provided where necessary for certain situations.

We hope this will not be required but Omicron is in Ireland. It is in the European Union. As a result of the work South African medics did to identify the strain, that country has been blamed, whether the variant originated there or not. Who knows. It is unfortunate that particular countries have been highlighted. The variant has been found throughout the European Union. I hope these powers do not need to be used but it is right and proper that we are cautious and prepared and that the Government notes the risk and acts on its potential.